College Coaches Rave About Colts' Tyler Warren

The Indianapolis Colts put together their draft plan in round one once they secured the 14th overall selection, tight end Tyler Warren from Penn State. The 2024 Mackey Award recipient will be a welcome addition to Shane Steichen's offense to patch up the tight end pitfall for Indy last year.

Warren was so good in 2024 (104 catches, 1,233 receiving yards, 12 all-purpose scores) that he commands respect from college coaches, especially those who played against him.

ESPN documents this in a recent piece from Adam Rittenberg, where a duo of Big Ten coordinators spoke highly of Indy's new dynamic weapon at tight end when compared with former Michigan tight end, now Chicago Bears, Colston Loveland.

One Big Ten coordinator said this.

"But I think he's (Loveland) pretty special. He's more of a receiving tight end, where Tyler can kind of do it all. Two good ones, though. No doubt about it."

Warren was taken four spots behind Loveland, who was the first tight end off the board at 10th. However, given the run-centric game plan that Steichen will run with quarterback Anthony Richardson (or Daniel Jones) and running back Jonathan Taylor, Warren fits what Indy wants to do.

Another Big Ten coordinator brought this up about Warren.

"But I think he's pretty special. He's more of a receiving tight end, where Tyler can kind of do it all. Two good ones, though. No doubt about it." The coordinator continued with: "Penn State's guy is a little bit more of a complete player."

Warren will impact the Colts' offense, amplifying what Steichen can unfold as a play caller. Warren might also help Richardson immensely if he wins the starting job under center. Richardson struggled with shorter, intermediate passes, but didn't have much support from Indy's tight ends (39 catches between four players).

This addition is huge, as Warren will open up more opportunities for Richardson to take advantage of the middle of the field, while providing a safety blanket for the quarterback.

Everything rides on this season for the Colts, and Warren helps their goal of attaining more than eight or nine wins. However, there is more for Indianapolis to do with depth areas of the roster. But Warren is a welcome name for the offense, especially.

Warren's season can't be considered too much with much time between now and the regular season. But it's fun to speculate what can be, and Warren might be one of the surest rookies to be an immediate factor for any team, and it's likely due to a combination of Warren's skill and the lack of help from Indy's four tight ends last year.

It will be intriguing to see how Warren's first NFL offseason goes now that he's in a Colts uniform.

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