LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Two days before he was drafted with the 10th pick by the Chicago Bears, Colston Loveland was back home in Gooding, Idaho, branding cattle.
Every April, Loveland and his brothers venture down the road to their aunt and uncle's farm nestled in the southern Idaho town of 3,800 for an annual cattle branding. It's a job they'd do in groups to make for efficient work to brand, vaccinate and clip the ear of the calves. The tight end and his two brothers, Cayden and Cash, loved these days because it meant they got to skip school.
The experience this time around wasn't nearly as intense. Loveland, after all, is three months removed from having surgery to repair the AC joint in his right shoulder, which the Bears believe will not hold him back from training camp.
This rural backdrop -- what Loveland and others from Gooding refer to as a "hidden gem" -- was the setting for Loveland to evolve from competing in the rodeo to winning a national championship at Michigan to becoming a top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL draft. Instead of going to Green Bay, Wisconsin, to walk across the stage in the first round, Loveland opted to experience the draft from Gooding, surrounded by 150 family and friends -- and numerous mounted animal heads -- in his aunt and uncle's home. There were another 500 people down the street waiting to celebrate the moment.
Loveland doesn't come from a state that produces a ton of NFL prospects. Only three active NFL players -- Texans DT Tommy Togiai, Broncos LB Jonah Elliss and DE Scott Matlock -- played high school football in Idaho and were drafted. Loveland became the fourth and is believed to be the highest draft pick ever from Idaho.
"I asked him about his hand strength, because not only can you see it when he catches the ball but when he blocks, and he was like, 'Have you ever put up wire fence in Idaho before?'" Bears GM Ryan Poles recalled. "I said, 'No.' But, that explains (a lot).
"He's been doing some labor that kind of makes him who he is. When you watch the tape, you can see that. And when you all meet him, you'll see that as well."
Loveland is Poles' fourth consecutive offensive player drafted in the first round. He's viewed as a key to unlocking the potential of coach Ben Johnson's offense, which allowed Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta to catch 86 passes and 10 touchdowns as a Pro Bowl rookie in 2023.
The 6-foot-5, 245-pound Loveland had 56 receptions, including five for TDs, last season. Both numbers were the second highest in the Big Ten, behind Penn State's Tyler Warren (104-8), who went No. 14 to the Indianapolis Colts.
But it's that "Idaho tough" intangible, coined by Poles, that helps separate him from other tight ends.
"All of the things we are trying to build here, he encompasses that as a person," Bears senior director of player personnel Jeff King said. "Not even getting to the field yet, you talk about the cover of the album being your first pick. He embodies that."
FORMER WOLVERINES COACH Jim Harbaugh visited Gooding in December 2021 after Loveland had committed to Michigan. He stayed the night at Loveland's grandparents' home and went through a 7:30 a.m. workout with the tight end the next morning in his trademark khaki slacks.
Current Michigan coach Sherrone Moore, who was the OL coach and co-offensive coordinator in 2021, described the strategy of recruiting Idaho as "mining for gold," and Loveland starting paying dividends his first season.
Loveland's first Michigan touchdown came on the road against Ohio State, where the Wolverines hadn't won since 2000 and trailed 20-17 early in the third quarter.
Quarterback J.J. McCarthy faked a handoff to a receiver in motion before launching a 45-yard pass that Loveland caught over his left shoulder. After sprinting into the end zone, the freshman turned to the crowd of 106,787 and put his finger to his lips.
"The thing that stood out the most: not only did he leave the defender in the dust, but shushing the crowd right after," Moore said. "I thought that was an epic moment for a freshman to catch that and not even blink."
While watching McCarthy, who ended up going to the Minnesota Vikings with the 10th pick in 2024, Loveland flashed on the film.
"I just remember even as the playcaller, trying to find ways to get him the ball because we knew how talented he was and how much of a playmaker and a mismatch," Moore said. "J.J. felt that comfort, and I think quarterbacks always feel that comfort with really good tight ends that can bail them out, especially in third-down situations and big-play situations."
As a sophomore, Loveland was McCarthy's second-favorite weapon behind Roman Wilson and led the Wolverines in receiving yards (64) in the national championship game in 2023. His stats weren't as eye-popping as Warren's, due to Michigan's run-oriented offense (which Poles said is a testament to Loveland's blocking being "way better than people realize"), but Loveland was targeted on 41% of his routes in 2024, which was the highest mark by any FBS tight end.
Despite playing with a rotating cast of quarterbacks last year as a junior, Loveland's production remained steady (56 catches, 582 yards, 5 TDs).
"I asked him about that," Poles said. "How did you handle that? How did you handle working with a younger quarterback or somebody who you didn't maybe have the greatest chemistry or the same chemistry you had the year before.
"And how he responded to that was really mature and it showed good awareness. It showed selflessness. It showed him being a team guy more than just him and his stats."
NOT LONG BEFORE Loveland turned 21 on April 9, he got a chance to meet face-to-face with his new head coach during Michigan's pro day. Johnson asked Loveland about his favorite tight ends, and he mentioned LaPorta.
"You remind me a lot of him," Johnson told Loveland. "Obviously we did a lot of things with LaPorta ... I can see you doing a lot of those things as well."
In two seasons with Johnson calling plays, LaPorta developed into Detroit's third-leading receiver with 146 catches for 1,615 yards and 17 TDs.
"That was pretty cool to hear," Loveland said. "And obviously now seeing it all come full circle, I'm excited. I know [Johnson is] great and he's going to do great for Chicago."
Johnson also was quick to point out that Loveland's makeup is more than just his on-field contributions.
"I do see a lot of comparisons to LaPorta, but that's not just on the field, that was off the field as well, because with LaPorta the stage was never too big or too bright," Johnson said. "I felt that same thing with Colston the first time I met him.
"He doesn't bat an eye, he performs at a high level, and as we talk about where we're going as an organization, and we're going to be playing in these big games with the bright lights, we need guys that are going to rise up to the occasion. And he's going to do that for us."
Nick Saban, the former Alabama coach turned college football analyst who lost out on Loveland in a recruiting battle, called Loveland "the best receiver of all the tight ends in the draft."
Loveland won't see the field for several months while he continues to rehab his shoulder, so early indications of how Chicago will utilize the rookie and veteran tight end Cole Kmet won't come until later. The Bears are adamant Kmet will maintain a significant role despite a dip in his production last year. Kmet went from 719 yards and six TDs in 2023 to 474 and four playing with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams in 2024.
Having Loveland in the mix will allow Johnson to continue to run a high percentage of plays out of 12 personnel (1 RB, 2 WR, 2 TE), which he did at the third-highest rate in the NFL during his final season in Detroit.
"It allows Ben to do what he does best, which, one, is to have a physical brand of football but also be creative and do some things that are going to put teams in a pickle," Poles said.
It's why when Johnson got on the phone on draft night, he told Loveland: "You're exactly what we're looking for."