Michigan tight end Colston Loveland (18) walks off the field after 38-17 loss to Oregon at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

'Dream Scenario' for Colts Means Having the Pick of the Litter

Originally posted on Indianapolis Colts on SI
By Jake Arthur | Last updated Apr 5, 2025 9:00 AM ET

The Indianapolis Colts are in a position to take the best players available throughout the 2025 NFL Draft. They have enough needs across the roster to where there are very few positions that they shouldn't consider early on.

However, luckily for the Colts, their biggest need, tight end, matches perfectly with the supply and value at the position, as players Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland would both be great selections with the 14th overall pick.

Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report identified this outlook as his dream scenario for the Colts with their first-round pick.

"A team in need of a safety valve for quarterback Anthony Richardson sits back and has a choice between tight ends Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland in the middle of Round 1," Gagnon wrote. "Which could enable them to drop back a handful of spots and still land one or the other."

If the Colts have both Warren and Loveland available to them, they likely have a couple of other players they like available as well, so they could trade back a handful of picks in order to gain more draft capital later on while still being able to get one of the players from the group they covet. However, if the Colts are dead set on getting a top tight end then it may be wise to just stick at 14 and pick one of them, as teams like the Seattle Seahawks (18), Denver Broncos (20), and Los Angeles Chargers (22) loom behind them and could snag one of Warren or Loveland.

Statistically, the Colts' tight end room was the second-least-productive unit in the NFL in 2024. There were actually 25 individual tight ends across the league who had more receiving yards by themselves than the 467 yards that the entirety of the Colts' tight ends produced.

Kylen Granson was the Colts' leading receiving tight end but departed in free agency for the Philadelphia Eagles. Likewise, Mo Alie-Cox has been the most consistent presence in the Colts' tight end room for the last few years but remains a free agent.

The Colts not only don't have qualified starters at tight end -- Drew Ogletree and Will Mallory are the top returning players -- but they're in a position to have to support their quarterback as much as possible in 2025, whether that's Anthony Richardson or Daniel Jones.