Can Michigan’s Colston Loveland be the blue-chip tight end of the 2025 NFL Draft cycle, the way Brock Bowers was the year before?
As a player, Loveland has some stylistic differences to Bowers. But in terms of raw talent at the TE position, very few can match what Loveland has to offer. Where does he rank in the 2025 group?
Colston Loveland’s Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’5″
- Weight: 246 pounds
- Position: Tight End
- School: Michigan
- Current Year: Junior
The Wolverines have a very respectable track record at tight end in recent years. They’ve directly developed talents like Jake Butt, Zach Gentry, Luke Schoonmaker, and AJ Barner — all of whom were selected in the NFL Draft — and 2024 Day 3 selection Erick All also got his start at Michigan.
Michigan is a reliable factory of TE talent, but the school’s best prospect of the modern era by far has yet to hit the circuit.
The anticipation is already building for Loveland, who was a four-year varsity player and a standout in both basketball and football at Gooding High School in Gooding, Idaho. In basketball, he averaged nearly a double-double as a senior. But football was always where he shined brightest.
As a mere sophomore at Gooding, Loveland amassed 91 catches for 1,147 yards and 14 touchdowns, and he remained productive through the entirety of his high school career. Loveland’s background as a former wide receiver ingrained in him natural separation instincts — but the Wolverines had a plan for him as an X-factor at TE.
As a true freshman at Michigan, Loveland flashed promise, accruing 16 catches for 235 yards and two scores. And in 2023, he was one of the offense’s most dynamic, reliable weapons, and a driving force for the team’s national championship run.
Catching passes from J.J. McCarthy, Loveland recorded 45 receptions for 649 yards and four touchdowns in 2023, earning first-team All-Big Ten honors in the process. Now, entering the 2025 NFL Draft cycle, Loveland already has high praise from evaluators, and more could be on the way.
Already, Loveland has proven himself to be the Wolverines’ top pass-catching weapon in the early weeks of the 2024 campaign. Though Michigan’s passing attack hasn’t been nearly as potent without McCarthy, the passing game has flowed through Loveland whenever it’s caught any steam.
Loveland’s ability to positively affect an offense in so much turmoil speaks to his rare ability on its own. But on tape, Loveland’s unique traits are made even more distinct — and his success lends insight on how he might be used at the NFL level.
Loveland’s Scouting Report
Strengths
- Has a tall, streamlined frame with great lean mass and proportional length.
- Effortless athlete with elite accelerative capacity and short-area quickness for his size.
- Fast-strider with enough long speed to threaten up seams and on the vertical plane.
- Has hyper-elite fluidity for a TE, which yields rare throttle freedom and swivel flexibility.
- Has superb hip sink and angle freedom when executing sharp cuts on route breaks.
- Able to stack quick direction changes and hip transitions on multi-layered routes.
- Possesses the high-level bend to accelerate along curved route breaks and enter space.
- Manipulative route runner who can use tempo modulations and head fakes to break free.
- Has the awareness to hinge around and sit in short zones, making himself available.
- Can make high-difficulty adjustments in stride and snare high passes with his length.
- Knows how to use timing and positioning to freeze and box out defenders at the catch.
- Has shown to secure passes away from his frame with diamond technique.
- Hip fluidity and stubborn leg churn lend themselves well in the run-after-catch phase.
- Has all-encompassing alignment versatility and a promising route tree at his age.
- High-effort blocker who reaches landmarks quickly, using tight hands and a strong base.
Weaknesses
- Is a bit light relative to his height and length, and has room to add additional mass.
- Long speed, while very good for his size, falls short of the quantifiably elite mark.
- With non-elite mass, naturally doesn’t have the force output to break successive tackles.
- Still learning how to use efficient physicality to fight through jams in stacked alignments.
- Sometimes plays the ball too patiently on the vertical plane and allows it into his frame.
- Can be prone to occasional focus drops, bringing his hands too far overtop passes.
- Can experience focus drops when attempting to gather the ball and accrue RAC upfield.
- At times, diverts upright at contact as a blocker, limiting base load and power drive.
- Can learn how to better control his energy, twitch, and hand carriage on block approach.
- Sometimes extends before his base is set, lurching past his center of gravity.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Loveland grades out as a late first-round prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft. With more development as a blocker and slightly more consistency as a catcher, he could become a near blue-chip prospect and go as early as Bowers did in the 2024 NFL Draft.
At around 6’5″, 246 pounds, Loveland is a lab-built natural separator at tight end. He has exceptional lean mass and length, traits that help him outmatch opponents physically. But what makes Loveland special is his otherworldly blend of explosiveness, short-area agility, fluidity, and bend.
Already, Loveland has shown he can employ his mobility profile with ruthless efficiency and spatial IQ as a route runner. And at just 20 years old, he has an extremely impressive route tree and full usage pallet. His tools also translate well in the RAC phase.
Meanwhile, Loveland shows promise in the other more traditional facets of the TE position. As a former basketball standout, he possesses a keen understanding of timing and positioning. Additionally, he can snare high-difficulty passes with that timing sense.
As a blocker, Loveland can yet improve his play strength, power drive, and consistency with leverage and base load. As a catcher, there are occasional focus drops for him to cut down on.
Nevertheless, Loveland has the ability to be a mismatch generator and impact starter at the TE spot, with uncommon gravity and schematic value as an independent separator.