The Indianapolis Colts caught a massive break when the Chicago Bears took Colston Loveland in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. That left the door wide open for them to run away with Tyler Warren, the consensus TE1 in most mock drafts.
The Penn State product didn't need much time to make an impact. He was named Rookie of the Week after his second game, and he immediately stepped up as one of Daniel Jones' safety valves and favorite targets.
Warren looked the part in his first year in the league, but, like all rookies, he also hit a wall at one point. Now, with one year of experience under his belt, he has one word to describe his mindset ahead of year 2: Comfortable.
The Indianapolis Colts will need Tyler Warren to take it up a notch
"I think just coming in and not being a rookie and understanding what this all looked like and kind of what to expect as a player," Warren said (h/t WRTV). "It's been a little bit more comfortable for me and getting in to certain things a little more and not worrying about the big picture."
With Michael Pittman Jr. gone and no replacement in sight, the Colts will need someone to pick up the slack. They're paying Alec Pierce the big bucks, but he's more of a deep-ball specialist than a possession receiver.
That paves the way for Warren to be their version of Travis Kelce or Brock Bowers. He's a chain-mover, as 46 of his 76 receptions were either for a first-down or a touchdown, and he'll have to do plenty of that in year two.
Warren set a high bar for himself as a rookie. He hauled in 67.9 percent of his targets for 817 yards and five total scores (one rushing). He was out there for 84 percent of his team's offensive snaps, running 502 routes on 576 pass snaps, the sixth-most among tight ends. He also drew the third-most targets (106), a massive workload for a first-year player.
That type of usage speaks volumes about his talent and the team's plans for him going forward. Daniel Jones is reportedly making strong progress to be back on the field for Week 1, and that bodes well for an All-Pro-caliber season for Warren.
This will be a make-or-break season in Indianapolis. Shane Steichen and Chris Ballard will likely be on the hot seat from day one, and the team will have to rely on its playmakers to weather the storm after a disappointing end to the campaign.
All young players go through a learning curve and some growing pains early on in their careers, including Warren. Even so, he proved to be far ahead of schedule in his development, and now that he knows what he's getting himself into, what to expect, and how to prepare mentally and physically every week, he should come close to 1,000 receiving yards and double-digit scores in 2026.
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