Colts Slide in Power Rankings

The Indianapolis Colts did work in the 2025 NFL draft, highlighted by securing eight new names to place in their roster ranks. However, no name earns a greater spotlight than Penn State tight end Tyler Warren. This is with good reason; the Colts needed a starting tight end, and Warren was the top tight end in college football for the 2024 campaign.

Despite a good NFL draft, ESPN still has the Colts falling farther in their power rankings, dropping from 23rd to 24th, even after securing Warren for Shane Steichen's offense.

Stephen Holder had the assessment from ESPN, breaking down Warren's potential impact for Indianapolis.

"It would typically be bold to assert that drafting one player would make a single unit the most improved on a team's roster. But that's how big of an addition Tyler Warren is for the Colts, whose tight ends had a league-low 39 combined receptions and were 31st in receiving yards in 2024. Warren's 17-catch, 224-yard receiving performance in a single game against USC in October tops anything a Colts tight end produced over the entire 17-game season."

While the article discusses power rankings, Holder bringing up Warren's monster performance against USC displays how awful Indy's tight ends were in 2024. Without boring the reader to death with another rendition of Indy's tight end metrics, we'll make it simple: Warren will start in 2025 and no remaining Colts tight end is close to supplanting the rookie.

However, falling again in the power rankings is a concern. Indianapolis also secured names like defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau, offensive tackle Jalen Travis, and running back DJ Giddens, all names who can have a positive impact for the team as early as year one for each.

It might be debatable, but ESPN seems convinced in their power rankings, allowing the Colts to drop to 24th. If Indianapolis wants to improve, more free agents may need to be added for positions that still need help (linebacker, safety, and offensive guard).

The 2025 season is still about four months away, but that time will fly quickly. It will be interesting to see how the Colts handle their critical offseason until their debut kickoff for the new campaign, with the aspirations to climb ESPN's power rankings for the next addition.

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