Colston Loveland’s motion — right to left — offered a tell, a zone coverage from the San Francisco 49ers’ defense that the Chicago Bears were ready to exploit. With play action, quarterback Caleb Williams held linebacker Luke Gifford with his fake, then spun back to see Loveland gliding out beyond the numbers, and, with a burst, changing direction and accelerating up the left sideline.

Nasty route. Ideal throw.

“Turned on the jets,” Williams said. “There was a lot of space. I tried to give him a good ball.”

Williams did.

Gifford gave chase, but he could do little more than touch Loveland down after a gain of 32 yards on a go-ahead fourth-quarter Bears scoring drive.

On a night when Chicago erupted for 440 yards, 26 first downs and 38 points — albeit in a crushing four-point loss — that was the offense’s third-longest play and certainly among the most impressive.

“Colston’s length really showed up,” Bears coach Ben Johnson said. “You put that ball out in front, he runs right through it.”

If this is what the Williams-Loveland connection looks like in their fifth month working together — and under the direction of Johnson— imagine the potential for season 3 or 4. And perhaps well beyond.

“They’ve got a lot of time on task now at this point,” Johnson said. “They spend a lot of time after practice perfecting their craft just the two of them. I think it’s really starting to pay off for us.”

As the Bears head for Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Detroit Lions and then into the playoffs, Loveland has become a significant weapon and only seems to grow more dangerous with each week. Williams, meanwhile, has grown increasingly eager to look in the rookie’s direction.

Sunday’s production in a narrow road loss: six catches on a game-high 10 targets, 94 yards and a touchdown.

And to think, in the early weeks of this season, some outsiders were concerned the Bears had erred in selecting Loveland with the No. 10 pick in April’s draft, four selections ahead of where Indianapolis grabbed fellow tight end Tyler Warren.

‘It speaks to me’

For weeks, Williams has felt this chemistry growing with his rookie tight end, calling Loveland a “safe and reliable target” and lauding the smooth manner with which he runs his routes. It’s a body language thing, Williams emphasizes.

“It speaks to me very easily,” Williams said. “I know when he’s breaking down, when he’s doing whatever. He’s also tall, a large human. That makes it a little easier to sometimes maybe toss it up to him.”

Loveland’s NFL arrival came with widespread praise for his separation ability. Comparisons were inevitable. Bears senior director of player personnel Jeff King, an NFL tight end for eight seasons, saw shades of his former Arizona Cardinals teammate Todd Heap in Loveland’s suddenness and “snap” at the top of routes.

“He has really good feel,” King said.

Naturally, Johnson likened Loveland to Sam LaPorta, who burst onto the scene under Johnson’s watch in 2023 with the Detroit Lions to the tune of 86 catches, 889 yards and 10 TDs.

Sure, LaPorta and Loveland shared traits as route runners and pass catchers. But Johnson also felt similarities in their competitiveness and presence. “With LaPorta,” Johnson said in April, “the stage was never too big or too bright. I felt that same thing with Colston the first time I met him. … 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 who are going to rise to the occasion.”

Colston Loveland (left) has become an increasingly favored target for Caleb Williams (right) as their chemistry grows. (Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)

Blue’s clues

Loveland has studied a collection of current NFL tight ends, a group that includes LaPorta and Evan Engram. Yet his affinity for Houston Texans receiver Nico Collins may be among the more notable nuggets within his development.

Collins, of course, plays a different position. But similar to the 6-foot-6, 241-pound Loveland, Collins (6-foot-4, 222 pounds) offers a combination of size and athleticism that makes him a matchup headache.

Additionally, both are Michigan men. And Loveland’s tight ends coach in Ann Arbor during his junior season in 2023, Steve Casula, had been around Collins as a Wolverines offensive analyst during the receiver’s final two seasons on campus in 2019 and 2020.

Casula made Loveland aware of the resemblance.

Said Loveland: “We talked a lot about the stride length Nico has. Obviously, that’s God-given. But he uses it to his advantage. And he has this forward-lean, head-down, attacking manner.

“Nico is a bit faster than me. Obviously. But I could see how he threatens defenders and the way he’s constantly selling, selling, selling with his route running. We’re very different players. But there were these little things within his game at his size that I could pick up on.”

A couple of offseasons ago, Loveland crossed paths with LaPorta at the airport, and the two agreed to run routes together on Michigan’s campus. When that meeting materialized, Loveland instantly noticed the flow to LaPorta’s movement and developed an immediate appreciation for how detailed he was. “He might be running a short, little 5-yard in,” Loveland said. “But it’s seeing how he could really get in and out of the break efficiently. There were no wasted steps.”

This, Loveland told himself, is it, the nuance of becoming a true difference-making pass catcher at the sport’s highest level.

Threat level

Shoulder surgery last winter delayed Loveland’s on-field acclimation. Still, the rookie didn’t waste a day. He intensely studied his playbook, took to the teaching of tight ends coach Jim Dray and watched veterans Cole Kmet and Durham Smythe closely.

Loveland also rehabbed with purpose, got ready physically and mentally for training camp and has now spent the past 17 weeks offering flashes of his potential.

His fifth touchdown of the season came Sunday, on a free play deep ball from Williams. Thirty-six yards. End zone. “It was really well done,” Johnson said. “Colston kind of broke off his route when he felt Caleb extend the play a little bit.”

Caleb fires a 36-yard TD to Colston Loveland on the free play!

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Under more traditional circumstances, Loveland continues to sharpen his purpose within his routes.

“So much within our offense is about timing,” he said. “So when you come off the ball, threaten the defense right away. If it’s a route where you can come off slower and play around a little, then sure. But most of the time, it’s ‘Get into the defender right away. Make him feel threatened.’”

Johnson knew on draft weekend that, coming out of the Michigan program, Loveland would be advanced with his schematic intelligence. The Bears coach was certain his young tight end had NFL-ready route-running chops. But to complement all that, Loveland’s willingness and physicality as a blocker — combined with his understanding of how to be effective within that aspect of his game — have made him, in Johnson’s words, “the total package.”

At times, Johnson will see the way Loveland makes plays as a pass-catcher and view him as “a big wideout.” In other instances, the tight end’s aggression and pad level as a blocker convince Johnson he has a sixth lineman.

“That’s hard to find in a rookie tight end, much less a guy who’s been tabbed a route runner throughout his college career,” Johnson said. “I view him as a complete player at this point. And he takes a lot of pride in all facets of what he’s being asked to do.”

Just like Williams, Johnson’s sincere eagerness to continue working with Loveland is obvious. He, too, can’t wait to continue building chemistry. Again, if this is what it looks like in the tight end’s first season …