Tight end Colston Loveland has been a primary focus for the LA Chargers in the mock drafts of several national analysts. The connections are obvious with Jim Harbaugh on the staff as well as the teams' need to pair a true pass-catching weapon with Justin Herbert for the long term. The Ringer's Diante Lee had Loveland to the Chargers in his most recent mock draft.
And we finally have an update on Loveland and the Chargers in this draft cycle. At Michigan's pro day, the 2023 CFP National Champion told the media that he will be visiting the Chargers on Tuesday.
This is the first publicly confirmed top-30 visit for the Chargers of the draft cycle. Of course, the Chargers' staff is intimately familiar with Loveland. But as we saw last year, Los Angeles still uses their top-30 visits to talk to Harbaugh's Michigan prospects.
Running back Blake Corum, defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, and linebacker Junior Colson all visited Los Angeles last year. The Chargers selected Colson in the third round of last year's NFL Draft.
Chargers meeting with Colston Loveland ahead of 2025 NFL Draft
The physical and medical evaluation will likely be something the Chargers are interested in for Loveland. Prior to the 2025 NFL Combine, Dr. Neal ElAttrache wrote a letter to all 32 NFL teams regarding the health of Loveland.
The Michigan prospect underwent right shoulder surgery after playing through most of the 2024 college season with a Type V AC joint dislocation. Loveland took measurements and met with teams the the NFL Combine, but did not participate in any drills following his January surgery.
The Chargers signed Tyler Conklin on Friday to a one-year, $3 million deal (incentives up to $4.5 million). Some fans wondered if a Conklin signing would cause the team to not draft a tight end in the first round.
However, it seems pretty clear that the Chargers were looking for draft insurance after missing out on Evan Engram. If the first-round draft board doesn't go their way at tight end, Conklin and Will Dissly can suffice until the Chargers are able to take one in the later rounds. But if Loveland was available at 22, it's unlikely that Conklin's signing would take him off the table for LA.
A top-30 visit doesn't necessarily mean the Chargers will draft Loveland. But as seen last year, it's a solid opportunity for the team to continue gathering information.