Seattle, WA
Seattle Seahawks Draft Profile: Michigan TE Colston Loveland
During the 2023 season, Colston Loveland and AJ Barner were the top two tight ends on the Michigan Wolverines’ undefeated national championship team.
Could they potentially reunite in the Pacific Northwest?
Insider: Two draft prospects who fit Seattle Seahawks’ identity
Last year, the Seattle Seahawks selected Barner in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. He went on to have a productive rookie campaign, totaling 30 catches for 245 yards and four touchdowns while providing solid run blocking and establishing himself as Seattle’s No. 2 tight end behind Noah Fant.
Loveland, meanwhile, is a surefire first-round pick who could be a legitimate option for the Seahawks in this year’s draft. Some draft experts – including NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah – have projected Seattle to take the 6-foot-5, 248-pound Loveland at No. 18 overall. It would make sense, given how important tight ends are to new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s scheme.
On Tuesday, FOX college football analyst Brock Huard highlighted Loveland as part of his Seahawks draft profile series on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk. Huard called Loveland a “unicorn” due to his lengthy frame, speed, fluid athleticism and potential to be a big-time receiving threat at the NFL level.
“He’s a unicorn,” Huard said. “He’s just different. And he was different from day one at the University of Michigan. He played as a true freshman there. … When you’re 6-6, 250, you run 4.7 (seconds in the 40-yard dash), you’ve got 33-inch arms and can jump out of the gym, you give yourself an opportunity, (even) at Michigan, to hit the field right away.”
As a freshman, Loveland had 16 catches for 235 yards and two touchdowns on a Michigan team that reached the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Loveland then took over as the Wolverines’ No. 1 tight end in 2023, racking up 45 catches for 649 yards and four touchdowns during Michigan’s 15-0 national championship season – including a key 41-yard catch-and-run in the national title game against the UW Huskies. Barner was the Wolverines’ No. 2 tight end that year, totaling 22 catches for 249 yards and a TD.
This past fall, Loveland played through a shoulder injury that limited him to 10 games. But he still finished with a school-record 56 catches for a team-high 582 yards and five TDs – including seven catches for a season-high 112 yards against Oregon. He finished with more than double the receiving yards of any other player on Michigan’s team, which was hampered by subpar quarterback play following the departure of 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy.
“He’s a 6-6, 250 guy that looks like a 6-foot, 200-pound receiver,” Huard said. “He is that big, but he moves that effortlessly with that much fluidity.”
Loveland underwent shoulder surgery on Jan. 29 to repair his AC joint, but is expected to be able to be fully cleared for training camp this summer.
“Frankly, (the shoulder) is a little bit of a concern for me,” Huard said. “I’d have to be very, very, very clear on my medicals.”
Loveland also isn’t regarded as a particularly strong run blocker. But with Barner and the recently signed Eric Saubert, the Seahawks already have two good blocking tight ends. Loveland’s elite field-stretching ability could pair with Fant to give Kubiak another big-time receiving weapon for his bevy of multi-tight-end formations.
Loveland’s immense potential is reflected by Jeremiah ranking him as the No. 7 overall prospect in this year’s draft class – one spot ahead of Miami quarterback Cam Ward, the projected No. 1 overall pick.
“That tells you some of the grade and the evaluation and the unique skill set,” Huard said.
Listen to the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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West Seattle pickleball players rallied this week as they ramp up opposition to Seattle Parks‘ Draft Outdoor Racquet-Sports Strategy, which would – among other things – change dual-striped courts at High Point and Alki to tennis-only. Next milepost along the way: Tomorrow night (Thursday, April 23), the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners – a city-convened advisory group – gets briefed on the “strategy.” Though board meetings usually have a public-comment period, the department is directing comments to the three feedback meetings (none in West Seattle, though some local advocates are trying to get one set up). The advocate who contacted us says they’re trying to “show their support to save these vital community resources. These courts are used by hundreds of people every week to stay active and connect with neighbors. We have no idea why the city would seek to do away with such highly used and inclusive gathering places.” They’re describing what they’re doing as a “WS-specific effort … aimed at saving pickleball at Walt Hundley and Alki. We are planning another larger rally on a weekend in Mid/Late May where we hope to turn out the entire West Seattle pickleball community and invite our local elected leaders and city officials to see how many lives are touched by pickleball in West Seattle.” In the meantime, they’re continuing to collect petition signatures here. Tomorrow night’s Parks Board meeting is being held in person downtown and via Zoom at 6 pm – attendance info is here.
over at Bleeding Green Nation. During the off-season, he’s been writing his mock
draft blog and just wrote up–a rather lengthy–mock pick for the Seahawks at
#32.
Personally, not enamored with the pick, but he does a VERY deep dive into the
offensive and defensive makeup of the Hawks, trying…
After months of build up, the Seattle Seahawks are less than 48 hours from being on the clock for their first pick of the NFL Draft, as long as they hold on to pick No. 32 in the first round.
Seahawks Draft: A mid-round edge rusher with elite length
While the offensive line has long been a need for the Seahawks in drafts, this year running back, edge rusher and cornerback are among their top positions of need.
Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard highlighted a pair of players who could help bolster the Seahawks’ edge group as he continued his draft profile series Tuesday during Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.
In this edition of Huard’s draft profiles, he looked at Michigan edge rushers Derrick Moore and Jaishawn Barham, who also played on the same team together in high school at St. Frances Academy in Baltimore.
Huard pointed to the connection head coach Mike Macdonald, a former Michigan defensive coordinator, and many members of his coaching staff have to the Michigan program.
“They know these guys, they know them inside and out,” Huard said. “They typically like they’re Michigan men, and these are two physical guys that have all the attributes you’re looking for on the edge.”
The high-floor pick
Moore is coming off a decorated four-year career at Michigan where he piled up 24.5 tackles for loss, 21 sacks, eight passes defended and three forced fumbles in 53 games.
This past season, the 6-foot-3, 255-pound Moore totaled 10.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks and two forced fumbles while earning first-team All-Big Ten honors.
“I think this is a pretty fair quote about him: ‘Unselfish, well-rounded, high floor.’ Is he a high-ceiling guy? Not as much as Barham, but he’s a very high-floor guy,” Huard said.
NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah has Moore ranked as the No. 65 prospect in this years draft. ESPN has him ranked 60th.
“He is just your fierce, tough, edgy, productive (player),” Huard said. “He played in space a little bit more. They are field-boundary scheme at Michigan at times. He’s been more of the field rusher, more against your left tackle. And (he’s) just got more in the tool bag… He’s been a defensive end. He’s pretty well versed in it. He’s going to have a bigger tool bag, I think, than both Boye (Mafe) and Derrick Hall had, and he’s going to be a second, late-second-round (pick). Rugged, tough Michigan guy.”
The high-ceiling pick
Barham spent his first two college seasons at Maryland, which included earning Freshman All-American honors in 2022, and transferred to Michigan in 2024. He played linebacker at Maryland and in his first season at Michigan before making the move to edge for his final college season.
In 12 games at a new position in 2025, the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Barham amassed 10 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks.
“Jaishawn Barham is a little bit more of a wild card, and one of the scouts that was quoted in some of the prep for this said he may bloom with the right coaching,” Huard said.
Huard recalled seeing Barham as a freshman at Maryland while he was doing color commentary for FOX and being in awe of how physically mature he already looked.
“I remember being on the field, as a freshman, looking at him going, ‘There’s just no way. There’s no way humanly possible that that guy played high school football the year before,’” Huard said.
Jeremiah has Barham ranked as the No. 77 prospect in the draft. ESPN has him ranked 88th.
“He is a higher ceiling guy you’re going to have to coach up,” Huard said. “He doesn’t come with years and years and years of experience on the edge.”
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