NFL coaches, executives, and scouts have weighed in on where the Indianapolis Colts' Tyler Warren ranks among the league's best tight ends.
The Indianapolis Colts were fortunate to have their critical need at tight end align with the availability of rich talent at the position in the 2025 NFL Draft.
After Michigan's Colston Loveland was selected by the Chicago Bears at No. 10 overall, it became dicey whether the Colts could land Penn State's Tyler Warren at No. 14. Lo and behold, they remained (riskily) patient and were able to take Warren.
He rewarded the Colts with a Pro Bowl berth and one of the most prolific rookie seasons by a pass-catcher in franchise history. He set the Colts' record for receiving yards by a rookie tight end (817) and led NFL rookie tight ends in targets (106), receptions (76), and receiving yards, and was third in total touchdowns (5).
For the seventh year in a row, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler polled dozens of NFL coaches, executives, and scouts to find the top 10 players at each position. The tight end rankings were released on Friday morning, with Warren coming in at No. 5:
- Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
- Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
- George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
- Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
- Tyler Warren, Indianapolis Colts
- Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers
- Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears
- Kyle Pitts Sr., Atlanta Falcons
- Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
- Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
Warren received the highest vote, No. 3, and the lowest vote, No. 10.
Warren was considered a can't-miss prospect coming out of Penn State in 2025. And it appears draft evaluators were correct.
'He lived up to expectations,' an NFC scout said. 'He's a true Y who can handle the point-of-attack run game assignments but carried over his versatile, game-impacting receiving ability that showed up during his Penn State days.'
Warren had 817 receiving yards -- 125 of which came after first contact -- in Year 1, ranking third among all rookies. He accounted for 42 first downs and one dropped pass on 111 targets.
'He can kick your (expletive) in the run game on one play and win as a receiver on the next,' an NFL personnel evaluator said.
Dalton Kincaid of the Buffalo Bills, Pat Freiermuth of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cole Kmet of the Chicago Bears, Jake Ferguson of the Dallas Cowboys, and Harold Fannin Jr. of the Cleveland Browns were all honorable mentions in Fowler's poll.
This season, Warren will help absorb some of the volume left behind by wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., who was traded this offseason and averaged well over 100 targets per season for his career.
"Yeah, I mean, I think he was a really smart football player as a rookie," Colts quarterback Daniel Jones recently said about Warren. "Kind of came in with great feel and instincts, and I'm sure you guys have heard that plenty, but I think that skill is only something that gets better with experience and reps. So, he's gotten more reps, and you can tell – the way he sees things now is even better, and he's playing well.
"So I think, yeah, certainly expect him to be a big part of the offense again, and making a jump on what was a really, really good rookie season."
On Monday morning, the Colts' Jonathan Taylor was named the NFL's No. 5 running back. On Tuesday morning, the Colts' Sauce Gardner was named the NFL's No. 9 cornerback. On Thursday, the Colts' DeForest Buckner was named an honorable mention on the list of top defensive tackles.
