NFL Draft
11/20/24
6 min read
Colston Loveland 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Michigan Wolverines
Height: 6050 (unofficial)
Weight: 245 lbs (unofficial)
Year: Junior
Pro Comparison: Zach Ertz
Scouting Overview
Michigan Wolverines tight end Colston Loveland projects as a high-volume pass catcher at the tight end position. He’s bogged down in a run-heavy offense at Michigan, but the resume of route running, ball skills, contested catch ability, and body control speak for themselves.
This is a natural receiver who should be regarded as more of a big slot than a true in-line player, but the continued evolution of NFL offenses will find ample value in a player with this frame and pass-catching capability.
Loveland beats a variety of coverages to a variety of areas of the field, making him a diverse pass-catching weapon who can assimilate into most NFL offenses. Utilizing 12 personnel heavily is likely the best way to help create mismatches by allowing him to be the formation adjuster rather than a traditional ‘Y’.
2025 NFL Combine Results
TBD
Positives
- Highly impressive ball skills and body control to extend and contort his frame to adjust to errant passes
- Explosive enough to get up the seam quickly and attack second-level voids in the middle or subsequently run away from closing defenders after the catch
- Experience flexing out or playing within the core — the developmental leap to the NFL game should be less than many of his peers
Negatives
- Effectiveness as a positional blocker limits his ceiling as an 11p presence at the TE position
- Lacks the appeal to play as a hand-in-dirt player, which qualifies his versatility
- Irregular pad level and leverage at the point of attack
Background
Loveland was born in Goldendale, WA, and grew up in Bliss, ID. There, he was a multi-sport athlete for Gooding HS, starring on the hardwood and the gridiron. As a prep football player, Loveland was a 2-way star for Gooding — he played linebacker and tight end and was rated as a 4-star recruit at tight end. Amid posting more than 3,000 career receiving yards at Gooding, Loveland rolled in major offers from across the country — including Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Utah, and, of course, Michigan.
Loveland committed to and enrolled at Michigan before appearing in 14 games as a true freshman in 2022. He would go on to assume a starting role for the Wolverines during their run to the National Championship in 2023. Loveland started 12 out of 15 games during that season and saw his receiving profile expand with future first-round draft choice J.J. McCarthy running the offense. He was named First-Team All-Big Ten.
Tale Of The Tape
Loveland is a passing weapon first and foremost. Don’t let the frame fool you — this is a big-bodied threat who can win over the middle, down the field, and on out-breaking patterns to the sideline. The versatility of the usage is impressive and transcends the spotty quarterback play that plagued Michigan amid the departure of Jim Harbaugh and J.J. McCarthy ahead of 2024.
I love his hands and how he attacks the football in the air. He’s got a monster catch radius and maximizes it with loose shoulders and torso mobility to extend and play the ball away from his body. That, along with the density of his frame, makes him a challenging player to play through at the catch point and disrupt the catch.
Loveland can play all over the formation. He splits his time across in-line reps and working from the slot but has taken a modest amount of reps as a perimeter eligible as well. Teams that look to bake in pre-snap coverage will find this ability from Loveland to be quite useful, and he’s shown the ability to run routes in this space, too. It is easy to appreciate how he uses his size to play through contact in the contact window and at the top of the route. He’s a handful for defensive backs to disrupt and does well to extend and create separation in these opportunities. He isn’t egregious about it but has leaned into the art of jarring defenders for an extra step of separation.
Loveland works well against zone coverage, too. On routes designed to gear down, he showcases a good understanding of zone leverage and where he needs to squat to make himself available to the quarterback. On scramble drill opportunities, he has worked hard to get to the sideline and, on some occasions, will turn up the field and get behind undisciplined eyes. He scored a long touchdown this way in 2023.
All of these elements mix with strong work on the vertical plane. Delayed shallow crosses that leak upfield, seam routes from in-line or the slot, and fade targets put on the back shoulder are all elements of the passing game he has flashed a high-level ability to win. The versatility of the way he wins as a receiver should be a cause for optimism that he will have something to contribute to most NFL offenses in a certain role.
The ceiling for Loveland as a player is likely to be rooted in how much buy-in teams will have in the ancillary elements of the position. If Loveland can take off here, you may be finding a truly rare mismatch personnel buster. He’s been used extremely sparingly in pass protection.
Given his receiving prowess, that is understandable. It shouldn’t be on his menu as a young NFL player. His punch power, weight distribution, and framing all need significant investment. This extends to the work he offers in line in the run game as well. The mind is willing, and the body has enough physical ability to offer upside. However, if an 11-personnel team drafts Loveland and banks on him being pro-ready as an in-line player who handles climbs to linebackers and works double teams to capture vertical push or proficient skills capturing the edge against NFL defenders, they have another thing coming.
Teams that run inside zone and crack toss as preferred concepts could get some value out of Loveland as a fitting player from the slot. I do believe he’ll have a lot of net positive contributions from reduced slot alignments as compared to a hand in the dirt ‘Y’.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Colston Loveland projects as a mismatch flex tight end for an NFL passing offense. Teams that use hybrid 12p will be best positioned to implement him in the slot or off the ball as a motion player — where he can help change the numbers in the run game to the formational strength, be better positioned to play as a blocker from the slot and draw slot defenders or linebackers in his pass routes and use his height/weight/speed to his advantage. He may be a complementary player early in his career but figures to be a starter by Year 3.
Grade: 79.00/100.00, Second Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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