So far, the Indianapolis Colts look pretty intelligent when it comes to their 2025 NFL Draft. Most thought there was very little chance that Penn State tight end Tyler Warren would be available at the No. 14-overall pick.
And, it looks like he shouldn’t have been.
Warren has earned NFL Rookie of the Week honors for the second-straight week following a strong performance against the Denver Broncos.
On Sunday, Warren caught four balls for 79 yards in the last-second 29-28 win over Denver. Last week, the former Nittany Lion caught seven passes for 76 yards in the thorough stomping of the Miami Dolphins.
Tyler Warren has lived up to the hype
Many considered Warren to be the best tight end in the draft. General manager of the Chicago Bears Ryan Poles was not one of them. With the No. 10-overall pick, the Bears took University of Michigan tight end Colston Loveland. While it’s still incredibly early, Warren is clearly the better player at this point.
“Warren has lived up to the hype as the versatile “Swiss Army Knife” tag that he earned during his All-American campaign at Penn State,” writes Thomas Butler-Guerrero of Stampede Blue. “The 6-foot-5, 256-pound rookie has aligned all over the formation in his first two starts, including along the offensive line, in the backfield, in the slot, and out wide. Versatility was the main aspect of Warren’s skill set that caught the attention of Colts scouts and evaluators and the Penn State product seems to be a perfect fit in Indy’s offensive scheme.
It’s tough to imagine anyone watching Warren’s college tape and not envisioning what he would look like moved all around an NFL field. The guy really does it all.
“Steichen is playing chess, not checkers,” Thomas Butler-Guerrero continues. “Consider Warren the most powerful land versatile piece on the board. It was best evidenced last Sunday when Warren motioned to the backfield to line up at fullback alongside quarterback Daniel Jones, while Jonathan Taylor was set up in the pistol formation.
“When the football was snapped, Warren burst through the offensive line disguised as a blocker to misdirect the defense like a run play was coming. The Broncos bit at the play action as Jones faked the handoff to Taylor, which allowed Warren to sneak past the Broncos secondary for a massive 42-yard reception, which is the second-longest play made by a tight end this season.
Tyler Warren practice update
Warren gave Colts‘ fans quite a scare this week when he popped up on the injury report. Not cool,’ say fantasy owners and Colts‘ fans. Warren didn’t practice Wednesday with a toe injury, but he returned to practice on Thursday, according to Rotoworld.
“It’s a very encouraging sign that he’ll be able to go on Sunday, though by no means a definitive one,” Rotoworld writes. Warren went for 79 yards on seven targets against the Broncos last week and should remain an easy TE1 start in Week 3 against the Titans.
The Colts take on the Tennessee Titans in Nashville on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Colts’ Tyler Warren Wins Award, Gets Injury News