Tyler Warren's Rookie Year Fantasy Football Production Could Lag With the Colts

The Indianapolis Colts had their dreams come true Thursday night: tight end Tyler Warren fell right into their laps with the 14th overall pick.

The Colts have had a hole at the position for the past half decade, and they drafted a legitimate stud as one of the top prospects in the draft.

What should the Colts expect out of Warren in the NFL? His collegiate profile says he should fit in just fine.

Tyler Warren NFL Draft Profile

During the 2024 college football season, Warren won the Mackey Award, given to the nation's top tight end. It was well-deserved as Warren racked up 104 receptions for 1,233 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns. This didn't even include his versatility the run game as Warren totaled 218 rushing yards, 8.4 yards per rushing attempt, and four rushing touchdowns.

As his 2024 stats suggest, Warren's versatility has been highly praised, giving him comparisons to Rob Gronkowski. He's more than just a receiver and potential rusher in Wildcat formations, too, as his 6'5 1/2", 256-pound frame allow him to be a solid blocker as an in-line tight end. He even earned NFL.com's top athleticism score among tight ends, and that was without participating in the NFL Combine. Warren has plenty of exciting traits, highlighted in our Tyler Warren NFL Draft Profile.

Led by his quickness, ability to high point the ball, and fight through contact, Warren is one of the players on my radar for Offensive Rookie of the Year. In a run-first offense, he's +2900 to win the award at FanDuel Sportsbook, but there's upside should the Colts' offense exceed expectations.

Warren's Rookie Year Outlook

For Warren, the production concerns stem more from his offensive environment than the past curse of rookie tight ends.

Last season was the perfect example of a rookie tight end flourishing, for Brock Bowers finished with the most receptions by a rookie and receiving yards for a rookie tight end. He still fell short of Offensive Rookie of the Year as Jayden Daniels took home the award.

While winning this hardware could be out of reach for Warren, this doesn't mean he cannot be impactful. In fact, Warren figures to immediately be an every down starting tight end. He could even be involved in unique red zone and short yardage packages thanks to his ability as a rusher.

The offense does downgrade his short-term expectations, though. Anthony Richardson struggled to produce in his sophomore season, leading to the team's signing of Daniel Jones this offseason.

Even if Jones starts, this projects to be a run-first offense. And with Josh Downs and Michael Pittman Jr. in town, it's tough to project Warren for a lofty target share.

Thus, the landing spot from a fantasy perspective for Warren is rough. We'll likely want to be below consensus on him until he can prove that he'll provide fantasy production in what could be a disappointing offense.

Again, that's nothing to do with Warren. The Colts got a stud, and it was a dream to snag him. We should just be skeptical of him in fantasy given the environment he'll enter.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.