The first time Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones went deep against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, he was picked off by Kamren Curl. The next time he went deep, he targeted Tyler Warren. The result was a 24-yard completion.
When the Colts faced a fourth and one from inside the Rams' five, they again turned to the rookie from Penn State. The result was Indy’s first touchdown.
Whether he is running deep seams or short crosses, whether he is taking direct snaps out of the wildcat or running screens, Tyler Warren has quickly emerged as the Colts' second most dangerous offensive option behind running back Jonathan Taylor.
The Colts are only scratching the surface of what Tyler Warren can do
Coming into the 2025 draft, Tyler Warren was generally considered the top tight end available. The Chicago Bears surprised some observers by reaching a different conclusion and choosing Michigan’s Colston Loveland with the tenth pick.
Loveland was a very highly-rated prospect as well, but Chris Ballard was delighted to have Warren still available four picks later when Indianapolis made their first selection.
Through the first four games of the season, Warren has been targeted 27 times and caught 19 passes. He has gained 263 yards. He is averaging almost 14 yards per catch – exceptional for a tight end - and has converted 12 first downs. He has also scored two rushing touchdowns.
As a point of comparison, well, we’ll just say that Loveland has been virtually invisible.
According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Warren is the 12th-ranked tight end in the league. That is a little misleading because more than half of the tight ends ahead of him are reserves or platoon players whose high grade is partly attributable to a small sample size. Among clear first-teamers, only TJ Hockenson, Trey McBride, and Brock Bowers have higher grades.
What’s more, Warren has one of the best blocking grades among all tight ends as well. He is a complete player who can contribute in a variety of ways. Just a few games into his professional career, Tyler Warren is looking an awful lot like the new George Kittle.
In the fourth quarter against the Rams, with the game on the line, Daniel Jones again looked to the rookie for a huge 23-yard flag route that set up Michael Pittman’s touchdown one play later.
In the next series, Warren made another big catch near the goal line but was called for offensive pass interference. It was an iffy call – the kind of play that happens every game without any flag coming out. But OPI seems to be a point of emphasis this season, so the call was made. It may be one of those calls that goes against a rookie but would not be called on a veteran with a bigger reputation.
Indianapolis lost a very frustrating game on the road against a good team that they could have won. They played sloppily and virtually gave away two touchdowns as a result. But they showed their 3-0 start was not a fluke. And Tyler Warren continued to show that stardom is right around the corner.