The Bears made a huge splash in this draft, taking the first tight end (Colston Loveland) off the board. They followed that up with getting Caleb Williams additional assistance in the second Round, as two of their three picks went toward Luther Burden (WR) and Ozzy Trapilo (OT), respectively. They rounded out their draft with Kyle Monangai, a depth running back. Let’s take a look at the fantasy football outlooks for these players this season!
Not Ozzy Trapilo, he won’t get fantasy points. But, you know what I mean.
| Rd | Pick | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 10 | Colston Loveland | TE | Michigan |
| 2 | 39 | Luther Burden III | WR | Missouri |
| 2 | 56 | Ozzy Trapilo | OT | Boston College |
| 2 | 62 | Shemar Turner | DT | Texas A&M |
| 4 | 132 | Ruben Hyppolite II | LB | Maryland |
| 5 | 169 | Zah Frazier | CB | UTSA |
| 6 | 195 | Luke Newman | OG | Michigan State |
| 7 | 233 | Kyle Monangai | RB | Rutgers |
Round 1, Pick 10: Colston Loveland, Tight End, Michigan (6’6″, 248 lbs)
The following is an excerpt from the Round One Fantasy Football Rookie Round Up
TALENT:
Colston Loveland is a winner at all three levels, winning with strong breaks on his stems to get open against unwitting defenders. I would say that his #1 trait is his route running, working him open, with a nod to his 50/50 skills. He’s an exceptional high-point pass catcher, and defenders struggle to bring him down once he has the ball in his hands. Loveland is a speed freak with incredible body control, and he uses it to dominate so-called “defenders.” Loveland is capable of lining up all over the field, and wins from the backfield, inline, the slot, and out wide. The biggest gripe I have about his receiving game is that he had too many balls slapped out of his hands in contested catch situations, playing just slightly too soft to dominate.
That being said, he’s a natural playmaker and makes the most of every opportunity.
As a blocker, Loveland is a beast. He loves to block, taking out multiple defenders if possible, or completely erasing his assignment from the play. However, bigger assignments give him fits, so he works best at the second level, taking out defensive backs. Loveland should be a day one starter in the NFL, and has a chance to break the rookie tight end curse. Scouts say he needs to add about 5-10 pounds to his frame, which means he has room for improvement. Still, he should make the starting lineup from day one, and could have a long career, should he stay healthy.
NFL Comparison: Mark Andrews
Pre-Draft Grade: 1st Round
2025 OPPORTUNITY:
Depth Chart:
TE1 Colston Loveland
TE2 Cole Kmet
TE3 Durham Smythe
Rest in peace, Cole Kmet, we hardly knew ye. With Brad Johnson coming over from the Lions, he needed a more dynamic athlete at tight end, and he turned towards a player who many compared to his previous protégé, Sam LaPorta. While Loveland wasn’t my #1 tight end in the draft (he went four picks later), he lands in an ideal tight end situation. In Johnson’s last stop, he engineered a tight-end-heavy offense in Detroit, and Loveland gives him a chance to do it again. Loveland won’t break records like Sam LaPorta, but he will get plenty of opportunities out of the gate.
2025 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK:
I usually detest rookie tight ends in redraft leagues, but we’ve seen two tight ends break that mold in the last two seasons, with Brock Bowers and Sam LaPorta both finishing as studs at the position in their respective rookie years. Loveland has a ton of LaPorta in him and was handpicked by LaPorta; you have to take notice. By the end of draft season last year, Brock Bowers was a TE1 by draft capital. I could see the same thing happening for Loveland. It’s a lot of projection, but when it hits, it hits. There’s talent, opportunity, and a track record in the offense for a big rookie season for Loveland.
Round 2, Pick 39: Luther Burden III, Wide Receiver, Missouri (6’0″, 206 lbs)
TALENT:
Luther Burden is one of those newfangled “jack of all trades” receivers, a la Washington Commanders Legend Tyshun “Deebo” Samuel. Missouri got him the ball in all sorts of ways, getting him shots downfield, backfield carries, and those stupid little pop passes that the Chiefs love to do with their fast-but-terrible-receiver-du-jour. It’s smart to use him in all those ways, as an offense should try to get the ball into his hands as much as humanly possible, as he’s a YAC machine. He’s extremely patient downfield, waiting for plays to develop (which suits him well as a returner, too).
Burden also has an impeccable first step, going from a near-standstill to full speed almost instantly. Missouri didn’t challenge him with a lot of downfield catches, instead manufacturing short area touches for Burden to do the hard part. Unfortunately, when the Tigers did throw downfield, Burden didn’t do much to help his cause after the catch against Man coverage, struggling to get open and catch downfield passes. Against Zone downfield, he can eat, however.
NFL Comparison: Curtis Samuel
Pre-Draft Grade: 2nd Round
2025 OPPORTUNITY:
Depth Chart:
WR1 D.J. Moore
WR2 Rome Odunze
WR3 Luther Burden III
WR4 Devin Duvernay
WR5 Olamide Zaccheaus
This is a problem for Burden. He’s competing with Loveland, Moore, Odunze, and even Cole Kmet for targets. Unfortunately, that limits his opportunities to produce this season. Many will try to map 100+ targets onto him because Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze both topped the century mark last season. Unfortunately, that was a different offense. In Ben Johnson’s offense, the third receiver had exactly 44 targets in each of the previous two seasons. In 2022, Josh Reynolds had 59, but that had more to do with Kalif Raymond being the WR2 than Josh Reynolds being a good WR3.
2025 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK:
Burden should have fantasy football value immediately if Moore or Odunze fall for the season, due to his varied skill sets, ability to get open, YAC ability, and nose for the end zone. He is a good early-season flyer, to see how things shake out for Burden. But, ultimately, his downfall will be volume… or lack thereof.
Round 7, Pick 233: Kyle Monangai, Running Back, Rutgers (5’8″, 211 lbs)
TALENT:
Monangai is a fun running back to watch, because he is more than capable of making something from nothing, as the Rutgers’ offensive line regularly left him out to dry. He is extremely elusive in the open field and has an excellent dead leg. He predicates his entire game on making a man miss in a phone booth, so he struggles to take on direct impacts. He has good vision but slow reaction, which will make his getup and go a bit tougher to rely on in the NFL. All-in-all, as a runner, he can chunk off 8-15 yard gains, but he needs a runway to get up to his (marginally good) top speed, denying him a home run hitting ability in the NFL.
His hands are sufficient to play at the next level.
Pre-Draft Grade: 6th Round
NFL Comparison: D’Andre Swift
2025 OPPORTUNITY:
Depth Chart:
RB1 D’Andre Swift
RB2 Roschon Johnson
RB3 Kyle Monangai
RB4 Travis Homer
Monangai will start his career as a complementary backfield option for Chicago, but this is a climbable depth chart. Swift has his issues (health among them). Roschon is a low-ceiling depth piece, and Monangai has a chance to vault him to start his career. Monangai proved he carried a workhorse mentality at Rutgers, notching over 2,000 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns in his last two seasons combined. Unfortunately, a lack of breakaway speed and just-okay hands won’t force the issue. Likely, he never makes it past Roschon without injuries ahead of him.
2025 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK:
Never say never with running backs. Monangai isn’t exactly staring down Mt. Everest ahead of him on the depth chart, as both Swift and Johnson are mediocre-to-okay backs in their respective roles. I wouldn’t draft Monangai, but he has a chance to be an intriguing second-half option if things break his way.
