The Indianapolis Colts got lucky at the top part of the 2025 NFL Draft when Penn St. tight end Tyler Warren fell to them at the No. 14-overall pick in the first round. Many draftniks thought there was no way that he’d ever make it past the New York Jets at the No. 7 slot. And, the Chicago Bears also wanted a tight end, but they went in a different direction with University of Michigan star Colston Loveland. That allowed Warren to slide down to No. 14.
While many NFL experts in the media have weighed in with their thoughts on the Colts’ draft, Mike Sando of The Athletic takes a different approach: Poll NFL executives who get paid to this kind of thing for a living.
How did the NFL executives see it?
“Execs agree the Colts landed a solid player in tight end Tyler Warren with the 14th pick, but they do not see him as a dynamic threat in the passing game and fear Indy’s quarterbacks will not maximize his production in that realm,” Sando writes.
“A tight end like (Colston) Loveland (chosen No. 10 by Chicago) is a dynamic athlete who can get open on his own and really affect the passing game,” one exec said. “That is more valuable to me than what the Colts are getting, because Warren is not running away from anyone, including middle linebackers.”