Colston Loveland had a pretty clear picture in his head on draft night - and it didn’t involve Chicago.
The Bears tight end said on a recent appearance on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast that he believed the Chargers were the team most likely to take him in 2025. In fact, he said Los Angeles was the only club he met with.
" I think Chargers," Loveland said when asked which other team outside of the Bears was set to draft him.
"That was the only visit I had and coach [Jim] Harbaugh really told me, 'If you're there, we'll grab you."
Loveland added that he was caught off guard when the Bears picked him so early, because he was expecting the Chargers to be the team that called his name.
Instead, Chicago grabbed the former Michigan Wolverine at No. 10 overall. Los Angeles was sitting at No. 22, and once Loveland was off the board, the Chargers went with running back Omarion Hampton.
Loveland’s first year in Chicago gave the Bears exactly what they hoped for and then some. The 22-year-old put up 58 catches, 713 receiving yards and six touchdowns, while averaging 12.3 yards per reception. He also became the first rookie to lead the team in receiving yards since 1983.
The Chargers, meanwhile, still came away with a strong pick in Hampton. The running back flashed when healthy in his rookie season, though a fractured left ankle limited him to nine games.
Looking ahead to 2026, Hampton is positioned to be the Chargers’ clear feature back.
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The more immediate question is how quickly Burke can clean up the parts of his game that still need work, especially in pass protection. Los Angeles does not need to force him into a bigger role right away, and that gradual approach could be the key to turning him from a developmental pick into a useful swing tackle if he can hold up against faster edge rushers and keep his technique steady. [Read more 🡒]
How Expensive The Chargers Core Just Became In Trade Talks
Any discussion of the Chargers future starts with the same uncomfortable truth: the roster is packed with players who would draw serious interest if they ever hit the market. ESPNs Bill Barnwell put that into sharp relief in his annual trade tier rankings, slotting Justin Herbert just below the very top of the quarterback class and placing Joe Alt, Rashawn Slater, Tuli Tuipulotu and Akheem Mesidor among the other names with real hypothetical value. It is the kind of exercise that usually lives in the realm of fantasy, but it also doubles as a reminder of how much talent the Chargers have assembled around their franchise passer.
The more interesting part for Los Angeles is how many of the teams other building blocks are already being viewed through that same lens. Derwin James is still treated like an elite safety, and young weapons such as Omarion Hampton and Ladd McConkey were close enough to first-round territory to get noticed, even if they did not quite clear that bar. For a team trying to stay competitive while keeping its core intact, the rankings underscore a simple reality: the Chargers roster is valuable enough that any trade conversation would be expensive before it even got serious. [Read more 🡒]