Why Did The Colts Draft Penn State Tight End Tyler Warren?
INDIANAPOLIS – As Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren started to fall on Thursday night, Chris Ballard was confident the Colts would get one of them at 14.
Patience was practiced and that paid off with Ballard calling Warren “the easiest draft pick” he’s made since 2018.
Ballard’s love for Warren reached its peak last fall, when the Penn State tight end had one of the greatest tight end days ever seen in college football.
In a road game against USC, Warren set a Big Ten record with 17 catches for 224 yards, carrying Penn State to a win that proved to be pivotal in their playoff push.
“That was as dominant of a game as any offensive player in college football this year,” Ballard said on Thursday night.
Attracted to Warren’s toughness, versatility and the “best hands of any player in the draft,” the Colts believe he can be used in the multiple ways that Penn State employed the 6-6, 256-pounder last season.
Back in January, Ballard went out of his way to say he needed to add more “toughness” to his team.
The 9-year GM brought that word back up on Thursday night.
“When he gets the ball in his hands,” Ballard said of Warren, “there’s some violence that he’s going to deliver to the second level.”
Throughout this offseason, both Ballard and Shane Steichen hardly shied away from expressing the need to get someone atop the tight end depth chart.
In an offseason in which the Colts have lost 3 offensive starters, they needed a major investment to infuse that side of the ball.
Ballard shared on Thursday that Warren was part of a handful of players the Colts considered with their first-round pick.
The debate about Loveland or Warren had ramped up a lot leading into the draft.
For the Colts, they were fans of both.
Ballard pointed to Chicago’s tight end depth chart of already having Cole Kmet as a reason why they might have opted for Loveland at No. 10 overall (some believe Warren and Kmet are similar styles of tight end).
Once Loveland was off the board though, the Colts had to dodge three more teams before the biggest need on their roster got a serious investment.
“Sometimes you get a little lucky,” Ballard said to lead off his thoughts on Warren.
“Good fit for us. Adds a toughness to our team.”