The Colts are experimenting in training camp with letting a rookie perform a role that they haven’t used in quite a while
The Indianapolis Colts had big plans for Tyler Warren the moment they used the 14th pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft on the talented TE. They showed one of the things they might have up their sleeve during Tuesday’s practice by having him experiment with a role they haven’t used in […]
The Indianapolis Colts had big plans for Tyler Warren the moment they used the 14th pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft on the talented TE.
They showed one of the things they might have up their sleeve during Tuesday’s practice by having him experiment with a role they haven’t used in quite a while.
Colts had Tyler Warren taking handoffs out of the backfield like an FB in practice
The Colts had Warren practicing taking handoffs out of the backfield like an FB. If you throw on his highlight reel at Penn State, you will see he did anything and everything asked of him by their offensive staff. He led the Nittany Lions in receiving with 1,233 yards, and he also added 218 rushing yards, which isn’t something you see every day from a TE. Warren would take handoffs at times, and they would even use him in the wildcat formation.
Warren’s role flexibility is one of the many reasons he was highly regarded by teams in the NFL. He was viewed as a consensus first-round pick, and many are anxiously waiting to see what he will do in the Colts’ offense. Head coach Shane Steichen has a pretty interesting mind when it comes to offensive play-calling, and I imagine he will be willing to throw Warren into multiple different roles early in his career. Steichen has not had a TE with Warren’s skill set in Indianapolis, but one could probably argue that he hasn’t had one in his entire coaching career to date.
Unlike most rookies, Warren isn’t having to compete for a starting job, with him being the clear best TE on the Colts roster already. Still, he has stepped into his first NFL training camp and been an early winner, impressing both on and off the field. It seems clear at this point that Warren is going to have a significant role early in his Colts career. Now, we will have to wait and see how creative the Colts are willing to be with his usage. It’s one thing to experiment in training camp and another to unleash it in a live game setting. I, for one, am hoping we see some tricky stuff called to get 84 the ball in his hands this season.