Around this time last year, Colts fans were clamoring for a tight end. It was the missing piece to an offense that had a formidable group of wide receivers and a star running back.
The schematic issue that plagued the Colts passing attack in 2024 is that they loved love to operate out of 11 personnel (3WR-1TE-1RB), but did not have a TE that could reasonably do that.
Mo Allie-Cox is one of the leagues best blocking Tight Ends— and while he can make an impact in the Red Zone or in short yardage situations, the defense knows that his job is to primarily be an in-line tight end who blocks.
So the Colts would often keep him in to block in order to take deep shots to Pierce, or have him chip and edge rusher and leak into the flat as a last resort.
Teams would push coverage away from Mo knowing that is lack of speed or YAC ability could let them rally and tackle if he got the ball.
The other primary tight end was Kylen Granson— an H-back type who could line up in the backfield and generate YAC, but was not big or strong enough to line up in-line and block Danielle Hunter or Will Anderson Jr.
The Colts would have him “Slice” or sift back on a DE in a split flow run scheme, or work up to safety’s in the run game as a secondary blocker.
It’s fine to have one tool TE’s as your second and third players on the depth chart, but the Colts needed a player that could be reliable in both the run and pass game. That way defenses couldn’t get a beat on what the Colts might run based on which Tight End was in the game.
While there was certainly some debate as to which Tight End the Colts might select, the entire football world knew the Colts were destined to take one in the first round. Chris Ballard in his post-draft presser said he liked both Loveland and Warren. And while I believe him, judging from the clips the Colts released of the war room when Tyler Warren was selected, I think they were fired up to get Warren.
My take, which I wrote about last year, was that both Tight Ends ended up in their ideal spots. Tyler Warren brought something to Indianapolis that not only did they desperately need, but that very few players can provide as rookies.
YARDS AFTER THE CATCH ABILITY
When you look at the Colts WR room, what has consistently stood out is their lack of a YAC player. Michael Pittman is a reliable underneath target who can make contested catches, but seldomly offered YAC. Alec Pierce can offer you YAC, but has mostly shown that ability deep down the field after running by the defense. Josh Downs is a shifty slot WR, who can get loose for some extra yards, but he’s not a player who will break tackles or absorb contact in order to do that.
Tyler Warren is a chain mover who can run through contact in order to break tackles.
This is such a simple play, but really illustrates how defenders just slip right off of Warren. The Colts don’t get the ideal look for this Dbl Slant Flat concept from Empty. Braden Smith gets beat on the right side and the Falcons are bringing an extra rusher. Jones knows he’s likely to be hot, but because Braden gets beat inside he has to play this even faster. The nickel does a great job getting hands on Downs preventing him from getting a perfect release and then covering up the hot.
But sometimes in football, things don’t go to plan. The best players make it right anyway. The nickel is not big enough and not strong enough to bring down Warren. He has fantastic contact balance— so much so that he makes this play look way too easy. Almost like a backyard football game.
VERSATILITY
Because Tyler Warren has the size and strength to be line up in so many places and do so many different things, you can scheme a lot of things open for him. We’ve seen the Colts do this by lining him up as a fullback which we’ll get to
But this was a gorgeous, yet simplistic, design from the staff. The Cardinals love running match defenses. By releasing the HB into the flat you can force the defense to push that direction, in order to match the route distribution. While the Mike backer matches JT into the flat, the weak side linebackers job is to match the “final 3” or new #3 receiver.
Because Tyler Warren does a great job bluffing as a pass protector, it gets that weak side backer to carry Mo Allie-Cox vertical— since only two receivers technically distributed into the pattern.
The corner sees it, but he’s way out of position to make a play and it walks in.
This is the same concept, but gives you a better idea from the +40. Watch Tyler bluff in pass protection and the Mike backer look clueless, since there’s no final 3 to match. It obviously is great design from the staff, but it works in part because Tyler is so versatile as a player. If the design was so easy, you’d scheme this up for every tight end.
Because Tyler Warren is tough and clearly enjoys the physical nature of the game, you can just line him up as a FB on the goalline and trust him to score.
The Colts OL loses this rep handedly. At the mesh point there’s no push of the pile— and for most players this is probably a 2-3 yard loss.
Watch how fluid he looks as he sticks his foot in the ground to evade Raimann, and then lower his shoulder while driving his legs to keep pushing the pile.
This is what people mean when they say “he’s just a football player”. It all looks so easy and simple, and that’s all part of his versatility.
BLOCKING ABILITY
While Tyler Warren was a prolific blocker in college, the one knock about his game was his arm length. He has shorter arms which put him in some tough positions if he isn’t perfect in his technique. But what he lacks in arm length, he makes up for in brute strength.
Even when guys get into his chest, it’s not easy to move him off his spot.
As the season wore on, Tyler lost some reps as nagging injuries started to take a toll and as he faced some really good DE’s at the end of the year. But this is not an area of concern, because he’s strong enough in order to play in-line without defenses being able to completely take advantage of it.
BOTTOM LINE
Tyler Warren was one of the better rookies in the league last year because of his versatility and toughness. You can line him up in a lot of different spots and ask him to do a lot of different things and he can handle it. He’ll take a big hit if he has to, he’ll run through defenders even if it makes sense to not to. He gives the Colts an edge to their offense.
The best part is that he’s only going to get better. He has room to grow as a nuanced route runner and can improve the consistency in his technique as a run blocker. He has to utilize different techniques to mitigate his shorter arms, and that can often take time.
It’s very easy when looking at the lack of depth in the Colts WR room, to forget about Tyler Warren. He’s ready to take a larger role in the pass game and I don’t think the Colts have forgotten about him at all.
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