It goes without saying that the Indianapolis Colts haven't had the season they hoped for. It seems like every single thing that could've gone wrong has gone terribly wrong from every standpoint; it's been a nightmare.
Unsurprisingly, that has taken a toll on several guys' production, though they also deserve plenty of the blame for this situation. That's the case with second-year TE Tyler Warren, who's been banged up and underwhelming through the first half of the season.
Now, with Josh Downs and Keenan Allen playing for other teams and Alec Pierce still out with an ankle injury, there's no more room for excuses. He'll be the focal point of the offense, and he must step up in the final eight games of the season.
The Indianapolis Colts need much more from Tyler Warren
Warren entered the league as the highest-ranked tight end in most mock drafts. He was the second off the board after the Chicago Bears took Colston Loveland, but he outplayed him for most of their rookie campaigns.
He was the talk of the hour in training camp, with beat writers and analysts gushing about his ball-winning skills and physicality. That's why watching him struggle to beat coverage and create separation has been so baffling.
Maybe he hasn't been truly healthy after hurting his groin late in training camp, or maybe he's been a victim of Daniel Jones' woes. Regardless of the reason, he's been vastly disappointing with just 275 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 38 receptions.
Warren has missed a couple of games due to injury, but still, his per-game production has been mediocre at best. He's averaging just 39.5 receiving yards per game, even though he's drawn the fifth-most targets among tight ends (53).
The Colts essentially punted the season when they traded Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner, and watching Keenan Allen and Josh Downs leave clearly won't help. From an individual standpoint, however, it might be just what Warren needs to finally get the monkey off his back and prove that he wasn't a one-year wonder.
Of course, this also means that he'll draw more defensive attention, so this could be a two-way street, but on paper, Warren's production must trend up in the second half of the season. It's not like Daniel Jones has anyone else to throw the ball to at this point.
It's hard to point the finger or single-handedly blame a player for a team's struggles, but with a great talent, even bigger expectations lie ahead. Warren will be the team's last first-round pick of the Chris Ballard era, and given the now-fired executive's poor track record in the NFL Draft, no one gets the benefit of the doubt in Indianapolis anymore.
The clock is ticking, and Warren must step up.
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