Is Colts' Tyler Warren the Next Travis Kelce?

Kelce has been just that throughout his illustrious 13-year career: dominant.

Defenses have had the biggest issues through the years containing Kelce, who has nine seasons of 80-plus catches. Even more impressive is Kelce's three seasons of 100-plus catches.

It's simple: Kelce has been incredible, and even this year, still leads Kansas City in catches with 50.

Warren has been similar, dominating defenses and befuddling opposing coordinators. Warren is second on Indy in catches (50) behind Michael Pittman Jr. (54) and leads the Colts in receiving yards with 617.

Warren is a nightmare, like Kelce, to defend in the short and intermediate range, and he's given Daniel Jones an elite-level target to find from the pocket.

It's too soon to say Warren is the next Kelce as a pass-catcher, but given that he's on a trajectory to have 85 catches and over 1,000 receiving yards, it's not out of the question to bring up the subject.

The Blocking

Finding a solid blocking option at tight end who can also punish defenses as a weapon isn't easy, but Kelce has been just that for years.

This year, Kelce has posted a Pro Football Focus run-blocking grade of 62.6 on 135 run-blocking snaps. Given that Kelce is known as a pass-catcher over everything else, this is a solid metric.

As for Warren, he's near Kelce with a grade of 57.7 on 192 run-blocking snaps. While this grade isn't incredible, it's more than serviceable. Warren has also shown great skill as a lead-blocker from the fullback position, as well as in-line.

Warren is prominent for his skills as an offensive weapon in Shane Steichen's scheme. But make no mistake, Warren can throw blocks and do the dirty work to help a player like Jonathan Taylor tee off on a defense.

The Clutch Factor

Warren hasn't had a massive chance to show the NFL his clutch gene, but when examining the Colts' recent battle in Berlin with the Atlanta Falcons, the Penn State product essentially won Indy the game.

Starting with a ridiculous contested fourth-down catch that converted for kicker Michael Badgley to tie the game for Indy. In short, this catch was absurd, with Warren tearing the ball away from a defender who had every right to break up the pass.

Then again, in overtime, Warren secured a dart from Jones to put Indy in position to continue their offensive assault. Eventually, this led to the game-winning TD from Taylor.

It's just a few plays used as examples, but Warren appears to be a go-to option when the game is on the line, just like Kelce has been for the Chiefs for years.

When a play is needed, #87 is who Patrick Mahomes finds. As for Jones, #84 has been a name in the same regard as Kelce.

Don't be shocked if Warren continues to put up fantastic plays that give Indy the momentum right when they need it before the regular season ends.

The Bottom Line

It's too early to say Warren will be the next Kelce, but he's shown an incredible ability as an all-around tight end in similar ways to the dominant Chiefs weapon.

If Warren can continue to play this way, he'll finish with an incredible rookie season, further building upon the case that he'll have an elite NFL career like Kelce has had.

We'll see which tight end gets the upper hand on Sunday in what will be a massive contest to help decide playoff positioning for both squads.