In a new and early 2025 mock draft from Matt Miller of ESPN, he has the Colts adding more playmaking around Anthony Richardson, taking Michigan tight end Colston Loveland at 14th overall.
In the run-heavy Michigan offense, Loveland has run-blocking experience, but he made a big impact in the passing game, and would add another pass-catching threat to the Colts’ offense.
Loveland is a terrific athlete and is listed at 6-5 – 246 pounds. On Michigan’s National Championship team, he caught 45 of his 62 targets at 14.4 yards per catch with four scores. Loveland was moved around the formation, with nearly 50 percent of his snaps coming from the slot and 19 percent on the boundary.
The 649 receiving yards that Loveland totaled in 2023 were the fifth-most among his position group. He also ranked fourth in average YAC and third in yards per route run.
Ian Cummings of Pro Football Network notes that Loveland already has “an extremely impressive route tree” and an “otherworldly blend of explosiveness, short-area agility, fluidity, and bend.” Cummings does add that blocking is an area where he can still improve.
Here is a snippet of what else Cummings had to say in his scouting report:
“Loveland has the ability to be a mismatch generator and impact starter at the TE spot, with uncommon gravity and schematic value as an independent separator.”
In the last four years, we’ve seen GM Chris Ballard invest into the tight end position through the draft, selecting Kylen Granson, Will Mallory, Drew Ogletree, and Jelani Woods during that span.
Looking ahead to 2025, the need to draft a tight end is potentially there once again for the Colts. Both Granson and Mo Alie-Cox are in the final year of their deals.
The potential for Jelani Woods to thrive in Shane Steichen’s RPO-heavy offense certainly exists, but he is still largely unproven in his young career after missing the entire 2023 season.
On top of that, both Woods and Ogletree will be in the final year of their rookie deals in 2025, and while every team ideally wants to find instant help, the draft is about planning ahead as well.
Ballard has built a tight end room that has a wide variety of skill sets, equipping them for really any situation or game plan. But collectively, the Colts will need more from this unit in 2024.
A lot can and will change over the next 10 months, but early on, tight end does look like it could be a need for the Colts.
