The Chicago Bears pulled off one of the best comebacks in NFL playoff history in a 31-27 win over the Green Bay Packers in the wild-card round this past weekend. A big reason why they were able to do so was rookie TE Colston Loveland, who had an up-and-down first year in the league but showed up on the biggest stage. On the latest episode of the Yahoo Fantasy Forecast, analyst Matt Harmon and Scott Pianowski discussed just how high Loveland should be ranked among fantasy tight ends going into the 2026 season.
Pianowski begins by pointing out that Loveland had stepped up during the season when injuries to WRs Rome Odunze, DJ Moore and Luther Burden III opened up more opportunities. But on Saturday night, everyone was healthy, yet QB Caleb Williams peppered Loveland all game. Pianowski likes that Loveland was targeted on and converted a crucial two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter, reminding everyone that goal-line equity is important when evaluating the tight end position in fantasy.
Maybe it’s irresponsible to think Loveland can be the top tight end overall in fantasy next season, but Pianowski thinks it’ll happen at some point in the youngster’s promising career.
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Harmon likes the trajectory of this Bears offense going into next season and thinks Loveland would be the first Chicago player off the board in drafts for 2026 right now. And beyond Trey McBride, Loveland has a case to be the next tight end off the board next season.
Loveland, who was selected with the No. 10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, had a slow start to this season. He dealt with injury before the season began and missed Week 4. Loveland didn’t start to play significant snaps until Week 7 before breaking out in Week 9 versus the Bengals with a 6-118-2 line. Despite missing time and the slow start, Loveland still finished as the TE14 in half-PPR scoring after posting 58 catches for 713 yards and six TDs.
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Yahoo analyst Justin Boone has Loveland ranked TE6 in his early tight end rankings for the 2026 fantasy football season. Boone has the young TE ranked third in hid dynasty TE rankings and trade value charts.