Tyler Warren made himself the highest-finishing tight end in Heisman Trophy voting in almost a half-century by way of his work with the football.
Catching it. Scoring with it. Running with it. Even throwing it.
The Penn State product expected to make himself a pretty good NFL tight end the same way — but, by way of his blocking as well.
“Obviously, being a tight end if you want to be a really good one, you’re going to have to do both,” Warren said during the NFL combine earlier this spring. “You can’t just go out and catch passes and can’t just be a run blocker at that spot. That’s the point I’ve been trying to get across when I’ve met with teams.”
Warren no doubt impressed plenty of the teams he met with in the pre-draft process, apparently none moreso than the Indianapolis Colts. Warren was taken by them with the 14th overall pick Thursday night.
“I met with (the Colts) at the combine. Came up on a (top-30) visit,” Warren told Indianapolis media on a conference call. “… But even from the combine it was a team that I really enjoyed the staff in my meeting with them. I enjoyed being there for my first 30 visit. … It’s a great place to go play football.”
Tyler Warren:
“I met with (the #Colts) at the combine. Came up on a (top-30) visit. … But even from the combine it was a team that I really enjoyed the staff in my meeting with them. I enjoyed being there for my first 30 visit. … It’s a great place to go play football.” pic.twitter.com/FngaHkB4Jf
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) April 25, 2025
Warren shot up draft boards since the start of this past season, when he won the John Mackey Award as the nation’s best college tight end en route to catching 104 passes for 1,233 yards and eight receiving touchdowns. Warren, whose seventh-place finish in Heisman balloting was the highest by a tight end since 1977, added 218 yards and four rushing touchdowns and even added a TD pass among three completions.
“I think I can do a lot of different things,” Warren said, “so whatever the offense needs from week to week and what they want my role to be is what I’ll do. And that might change from game to game. I think I’m a guy that can do a lot of different things.”
Warren was the Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded tight end in college football last season. His receiving yardage total was the second-most by any Penn State player (regardless of position) and ranks fourth all-time for any Big Ten pass-catcher — albeit under the caveats that Penn State played 16 games in 2024-25.
But Warren was a significant part of that run to the College Football Playoff semifinals. Warren had at least six catches in 10 games and scored at least one touchdown in nine.
“He can do a lot,” Colts general manager Chris Ballard said to Indianapolis media in a news conference. “He can play multiple spots. He’s got the quarterback background. He can play in the backfield. He’s a great 50/50 ball catcher. And he’s violent after the catch. He brings an element of toughness that I thought we needed to add offensively.”
Warren joins the Steelers’ Pat Freiermuth, Mike Gesicki (Bengals) and former teammates Theo Johnson (Giants) and Brenton Strange (Jaguars) as Penn State tight ends in the NFL.
Surprisingly, Warren wasn’t the first tight end selected Thursday night. The Chicago Bears selected Michigan’s Colston Loveland at No. 10.