In 2023, the Lions drafted tight end Sam LaPorta and he immediately became one of the NFL’s most productive tight ends in offensive coordinator Ben Johnson’s offense. Now Johnson is head coach of the Bears, and he thinks he just found a tight end who is a lot like LaPorta, on the field and off.
The Bears took tight end Colston Loveland with the 10th overall pick on Thursday night, and Johnson thinks he has another tight end who can do the same things for his team that LaPorta did.
“I love the tape. I love everything about the tape, but when you get to know him as a man, it’s really intriguing,” Johnson said. “It’s who we want to be going forward, in my opinion. He stands for high football character, IQ, intelligence, but he’s a great teammate. When we went to the University of Michigan, everybody was raving about him to see how he conducted himself, not only amongst his teammates, but walking through the building and interacting with equipment staff and video staff. You could tell that he was so well-respected. His story’s a little bit unique, coming from small town Idaho, and yet going to the big stage like he did, he didn’t bat an eye. And so, yeah, 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. 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.”
The Bears have added a wealth of talent to their offense this offseason, and Johnson should have the pieces in place to build a strong offense in Chicago, just like he did in Detroit.
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