Colston Loveland vs Ja'Tavion Sanders: The Full Breakdown
Colston Loveland and Ja'Tavion Sanders are both viable fantasy tight ends heading into 2026, but their 2025 production tells two different stories. Colston Loveland averaged 8.5 PPG across 16 games with the Chicago Bears, while Ja'Tavion Sanders posted 4.2 PPG in 14 appearances for the Carolina Panthers.
A 4.3-PPG gap gives Colston Loveland the edge on paper, but paper does not account for Thursday night matchups, weather games, or a star defender returning from injury. The real question is not who was better in 2025, but who is the better start this specific week.
Colston Loveland is the volume tight end in this matchup with 58 receptions for 713 yards, while Ja'Tavion Sanders profiles as a more touchdown-dependent spike play (1 scores on 32 catches). In weeks where Ja'Tavion Sanders finds the end zone he out-scores Colston Loveland, but the floor gap is real.
Colston Loveland has his bye in Week 10, and Ja'Tavion Sanders rests in Week 11. Managers rostering both need waiver wire depth at tight end for those two weeks, and that is exactly the kind of planning DraftCall's matchup engine surfaces automatically so you are not scrambling on a Sunday morning.
