Colston Loveland and Caleb Williams connected on three touchdowns during a single practice session Saturday, Aug. 1, at Halas Hall in Lake Forest, and the second-year tight end's quarterback says that kind of day is no accident.

Loveland led the Bears with 58 catches for 713 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie in 2025, but his approach entering Year 2 has expanded well beyond the tight end position. He's attending special teams meetings, studying receiver routes and taking notes on defensive reads for units he won't play on.

"He's just a sponge right now. He wants all the information," coach Ben Johnson told chicagobears.com on Tuesday, Aug. 4. "He knows pretty much every spot. He's looking at the receiver routes. It's amazing to me when you go into a special teams meeting and you hear him."

Williams, who set the Bears' single-season franchise record with 3,942 passing yards last year, was more direct about Loveland's ceiling: the quarterback said Loveland can become the best tight end in the league and that proving it requires the work they're putting in now.

The two built chemistry this summer when Williams invited offensive teammates to Los Angeles for group training sessions ahead of camp. That connection showed on the Aug. 1 practice, when the duo connected on three passes in a four-play span during an end-of-half drill, the last a 14-yard touchdown. Loveland finished the session with three total scores.

A slow start, then a second-half surge

Loveland's rookie arc tells the story of a player finding his footing. The No. 10 overall pick in the 2025 draft missed all offseason practices while recovering from a shoulder injury sustained at Michigan. Over his first six games, he averaged just 1.8 catches and 19.3 yards per contest.

Then came Nov. 2 in Cincinnati. Loveland hauled in six catches for 118 yards, including a 58-yard game-winning touchdown from Williams with 17 seconds remaining. Over the Bears' final 12 games, he averaged 4.9 catches and 65.8 yards with all six of his touchdowns.

The work behind the numbers

This offseason marked Loveland's first full program of OTAs and minicamp. Veteran receiver Kalif Raymond, who signed with the Bears in spring 2026, noted that Loveland takes 100 reps on the JUGS machine before each practice.

"I'm not worried about Colston when it's 100 JUGS in on the fourth day in a row and it's two minutes in the fourth quarter, because he already put the work in," Raymond said at Halas Hall on June 9, during the Bears' minicamp, according to chicagobears.com.

Johnson echoed that sentiment during the same minicamp period, calling Loveland "one of the most consistent players I've been around" and noting the coaching staff has expanded his route tree heading into 2026.

Loveland shares the tight end room with veteran Cole Kmet and rookie Sam Roush, a Stanford product the Bears selected on Day 2 of the 2026 draft. The Bears won the NFC North in 2025 and beat the rival Packers in a wild card playoff game before their season ended.

The preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 15, at Soldier Field. Open practices at Halas Hall continue through Aug. 25, with free admission for fans.