Chicago Bears second-year tight end Colston Loveland got off to an ugly start to his second season. However, now that the Bears sit at the bye week, the thought is that he could finish the second half of his second season better than anything we have seen from Loveland.
Chicago Bears Second Year Tight End Colston Loveland is Poised for Massive Second Half
Loveland averaged 2.6 receptions for 22 yards in the first five weeks of the season. However, the Bears dominated on the ground in Week 1, and they played in a downpour in Week 2. Then, they had three games with a backup quarterback.
Since Williams has been back, Loveland has been a different player. He is averaging six receptions for 63 yards per game in the past four weeks. Over a full year, he would be on pace for 102 catches and 1,075 yards.
Last year Loveland only averaged 3.6 catches for 44 yards per game. However, his season was a story of two parts again. In the first eight weeks, Loveland averaged 1.8 receptions for 19 yards per game.
He finished the year averaging 4.7 catches for 59 yards per game. So, his four-game stretch with Williams back and taking a step in year two is more consistent play than we have seen in his career.
He is averaging 2.04 yards per route run in the last four games, and finished last year at 1.97. He is on a different level.
If he maintains the same pace over the last four games through the next eight, he will hit 835 yards, which would be a step forward from the year prior. That felt nearly impossible a month or two ago. Now, it feels like 835 yards is a conservative estimate for what he can bring, considering he continued to rise throughout his rookie season.
The Bears schedule gets tough at the back end of the season. They have four important division games left on the schedule. All four teams are in the playoff race, so all of those games will have a playoff feel. They also face the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars, who are fighting for the one seed in the AFC.
The team is going to be in a lot of back-and-forth battles and could be leaning on Loveland.
| More Bears on DaWindyCity |
Add us as a preferred source on Google