If you drafted Colston Loveland expecting a breakout in Week 1, Sunday was about as bad as it gets.
The Chicago Bears tight end finished the week with zero catches, zero yards and zero fantasy points on just two targets. Even worse, Loveland was projected for 12 fantasy points, making his goose egg one of the biggest disappointments of the opening week.
And yes, it’s only Week 1. But that doesn't make the performance any less frustrating for fantasy managers.
The Hype Was Real
Loveland entered 2026 with plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
After averaging just 4.1 targets and 8.5 fantasy points per game over his first 14 NFL games, Loveland exploded down the stretch of the 2025 season. Over his final four games, including the playoffs, he averaged 12.0 targets and 20.0 fantasy points per game, seeing at least 10 targets in every game.
That kind of usage is almost unheard of for a tight end. In NFL history, there have been only 12 instances of a tight end receiving at least 10 targets in four consecutive regular-season games, with only one of those players being a rookie.
Loveland wasn't simply getting volume, either. He was efficient with it, ranking eighth or better among tight ends in yards per reception, yards per target and yards per route run.
Then came the offseason, when DJ Moore was no longer in the picture.
Suddenly, Loveland looked like one of the biggest breakout candidates in fantasy football.
His 2026 projection of 206.4 fantasy points reflected that optimism.
Then Week 1 Happened
The Bears opened the season in a wild 59-37 victory over Carolina, the highest-scoring Week 1 game in NFL history.
There were 96 total points.
Loveland scored zero.
He wasn't shut down because the Bears couldn't move the ball. Quite the opposite. Caleb Williams and the Chicago offense were putting up points all afternoon.
The problem was that Loveland simply wasn't involved.
He saw only two targets and failed to catch either of them. Meanwhile, Williams repeatedly found Kalif Raymond, who finished with eight catches for 84 yards on nine targets. Chicago's only touchdown pass to a tight end went to Cole Kmet.
For fantasy managers, that's a brutal combination: an explosive offensive environment, a quarterback throwing the ball effectively, and your highly drafted tight end somehow walking away with a complete zero.
Is Loveland Actually a Bust?
Probably not.
That's the important distinction.
Calling Loveland the Bust of the Week doesn't mean he's suddenly a bad fantasy player or that his season is doomed. It means that, relative to expectations, he delivered one of the week's biggest failures.
The underlying reasons for optimism haven't disappeared.
He's only 22 years old. The Bears still have plenty of incentive to get their first-round investment involved, and Loveland's late-season 2025 production showed what his ceiling can look like when he's featured.
One bad game doesn't erase four straight games of double-digit targets.
But fantasy football isn't played on paper. It's played one Sunday at a time, and on Sunday, Loveland gave fantasy managers absolutely nothing.
The Verdict
Projected: 12 fantasy points
Actual: 0 fantasy points
Difference: -12 points
That's a 100% miss on his projection and an ugly way to begin what many expected to be a breakout season.
The good news? Loveland gets the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2, giving him an immediate opportunity to put this performance behind him.
For now, though, the crown belongs to him.
Colston Loveland is the Bust of the Week.
And fantasy managers who invested in his lofty 2026 ceiling will be hoping Sunday's goose egg is nothing more than a very early-season fluke.