As a sophomore last year, tight end Colston Loveland was celebrating a national championship victory with the rest of his Wolverine teammates. A year later, after a disappointing team effort out of Ann Arbor, Loveland is looking to join a number of those former teammates in the NFL. It was on Instagram that Loveland authored a post announcing that he would forgo his senior year and leave for the 2025 NFL Draft. 
The top prospect coming out of the state of Idaho, the Gooding HS alumnus was considered a top 10 tight end as a recruit. Loveland fielded a range of offers from some of the best schools, including Alabama, Auburn, and LSU out of the SEC and Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon State, Colorado, UCLA, and Utah out of what was then the Pac-12. He also pulled obvious offers from in-state Idaho State and Boise State, but ultimately, he opted for the only Big Ten school to offer him, signing with Michigan.
As a true freshman, Loveland played second fiddle to Luke Schoonmaker as TE2. He took over TE1 duties in his sophomore year and was the second-leading receiver on the offense for the national champion Wolverines, finishing behind only Roman Wilson in receiving yards (649) and receiving touchdowns (4) while finishing third in receptions (45). This season, Loveland took over as Michigan’s top receiving option. Despite failing to reach his yardage total from 2023, Loveland led the team in receptions (56), receiving yards (582), and receiving touchdowns (5) by a wide margin.
Those numbers also aren’t near the production put up by some of the more productive tight ends in the NCAA, but that hasn’t stopped draft pundits from listing Loveland as one of the top options, if not the top option, for tight ends coming into the NFL next year. This is reflected in analytics, where Pro Football Focus (subscription required) lists Loveland as the fifth-best tight end in college football this year.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper lists Loveland as the 21st-best overall prospect and the second-best tight end, behind only Penn State’s Tyler Warren, the NCAA’s Mackey Award winner for best tight end in college football this year. Kiper’s colleagues — Jordan Reid, Matt Miller, and Field Yates — rank Loveland at first, second, and first, respectively, flip-flopping spots with Warren. Dane Brugler of The Athletic has Loveland as the 13th-best overall prospect and the top tight end, with Warren slotting in as the 26th-best overall prospect.
It’s clear that Loveland and Warren are viewed as TE1 and TE2 in whichever order for this year’s draft class. The only thing left to determine is where they will fall in the draft come April. Brugler and Kiper seem to be of the mindset that both players are deserving of a first-round pick, but as always, it will be up to general managers around the league to set the draft stock for the tight end position. If any tight ends are going on Day 1, expect to hear one or both of Loveland and Warren’s names.