INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Tight ends are among the positions that take the most time for young players to acclimate from college to the pros. Still, if a team selects one early in the draft, regardless of position, they expect to get an early return on investment. So far, that's working out well for the Indianapolis Colts with their first-round draft pick, Tyler Warren.
The Colts selected Warren with the 14th overall pick in the draft. He was widely considered the most complete tight end in the draft, but still was the second one selected after Colston Loveland went to the Chicago Bears at No. 10.
Warren is first among rookie tight ends in receiving yards (155) and targets (16), and he's second in receptions (11). He's second among rookies overall in each mark as well. However, he's stood out just as much as a blocker.
Among all rookies — tight ends, offensive linemen, running backs, etc. — Warren has the best grade in pass blocking (79.1), according to Pro Football Focus, and he's third in run blocking (75.5). Overall, he's the third-ranked rookie in the entire NFL, regardless of position, with an 82.4. Only Buffalo Bills tight end Jackson Hawes (92.7) and Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jihaad Campbell (83.6) rank higher.
This week, on an episode of the Move the Sticks podcast, Daniel Jeremiah, Bucky Brooks, and Rhett Lewis were discussing the impact of rookies through the first two weeks and were immediately captured by Warren.
"Rhett, is Tyler Warren the offensive rookie of the year right now," Jeremiah asked.
"Through two weeks, no question," Lewis responded.
"You look at production, he (Warren) essentially has the second-most receiving yards of any rookie behind only (Tetairoa) McMillan, and it's by like 13 yards," Lewis continued. "Now, Emeka Egbuka is scoring touchdowns, so that's another thing to consider here, but I'd say Egbuka is up there, and it's kind of a three-man race right there between Egbuka, Tetairoa McMillan, and Tyler Warren."
Currently, FanDuel has Warren tied atop their NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds at +460 with Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty. The only other close options are Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (+500), Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward (+500), and Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (+650).
Warren and the Colts (2-0) travel to Nashville this Sunday to take on Ward and the Titans (0-2) at Nissan Stadium at 1:00 p.m. ET. Warren popped up on the injury report on Wednesday, missing practice with a toe injury, so his status bears monitoring.
Jake Arthur has been covering the Indianapolis Colts for over a dozen years and is a member of the PFWA. He's one half of the Locked On Colts podcast and has worked for the Colts' official website, On SI, and more. You can follow him on X @JakeArthurNFL.