Prior to the Chicago Bears drafting Colston Loveland in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, Cole Kmet had been Chicago’s starting tight end since he was selected in the second round back in 2020.
Kmet is one of the longest tenured players on the Bears and was a part of their trip to the playoffs in 2020, so he was also one of the only players on Chicago’s team that had playoff experience with the Bears before the 2025 season. In his five years as a starter, he emerged as one of the Bears best tight ends and has the second-most receiving yards in Bears’ history among tight ends, behind only Hall-of-Famer Mike Ditka.
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Once Loveland was healthy and had some time under his belt, he emerged as Chicago’s top pass catcher and finished the year as the leader on the team in receiving yards. Only three tight ends for the Bears have put up more receiving yards in a season than Loveland had last year — Ditka, Martellus Bennett and Kmet.
In some situations, there would be some animosity between Kmet and Loveland given Loveland has usurped Kmet as the top tight end on the team. However, Loveland said Kmet has never acted like that as he was supportive and has helped Loveland learn how to be a tight end in the NFL.
“I think we complement each other very well,” Loveland said. “Cole was open arms when I first came in. Just seeing how he works and how he takes care of his body, on the field, run game, pass sets, routes, everything he does, he is a dog. I’m blessed to have that guy in the room and many others as well. We both understand what Coach wants and what we want out of this.”
Both tight ends will still continue to have a role in the offense even though Loveland is the top pass catcher, especially because head coach Ben Johnson likes to use multiple tight ends in his offensive scheme. Kmet was still on the field for 70 percent of Chicago’s offensive snaps in part because of how good he is as a blocking tight end.
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Kmet also continued to be involved minimally in the passing game with his most notable catch among in the divisional round of the playoffs on the miracle heave from quarterback Caleb Williams in the endzone for the touchdown that sent the game to overtime.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Colston Loveland discusses connection with Bears TE Cole Kmet
