Rookie tight end flashes all his skills in Colts’ opener

INDIANAPOLIS — A fit like Tyler Warren rarely falls into a team’s lap in the draft.

For years, the Colts had both a glaring hole and a specific need at tight end, preferring the kind of versatile, all-around weapon that has always been hard to identify and only gotten harder to find since the spread offense overwhelmed college football.

Warren was a gift from the football gods.

And after a brilliant debut performance in Sunday’s 33-8 shellacking of the Dolphins, it is clear the Colts do not plan to waste Warren’s talents.

The rookie caught seven passes for 76 yards in nine targets, picked up a first down on a fullback dive and allowed Colts head coach Shane Steichen to attack Miami’s defense with a variety of different personnel groupings, creating mismatches on almost every snap. He had the 8th most receiving yards by a tight end making his NFL debut.

“How about that guy, right?” wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. said. “Honestly, it could have been even worse, but we spread it out so much. I mean, we could spam him with targets, and he could have 200 yards, the way he plays.”

Warren, a unique weapon because he possesses a power back’s ability to run in the open field, caught the first pass of the game, taking a bootleg from starting quarterback Daniel Jones for 14 yards and a first down.

The rookie also caught the Colts’ final pass of the game, taking a short out from Jones on third down and slicing through Miami’s defense, breaking tackles on his way to a 15-yard gain to keep the final Indianapolis drive rolling.

“He’s an old-school, throwback freakin’ baller, is what he is,” Steichen said.

Between those two throws, Warren gave Miami’s defense fits.

Indianapolis used Warren as a conventional tight end. A play after the bootleg, Jones fired a hitch to Warren over the middle for eight yards, then broke the first series open a play later by ripping a deep out to Warren for 21 yards, the kind of play the Colts could rarely throw to a tight end a season ago.

The Colts only came away with a field goal, but for the team’s first-round pick, the drive was a signal that he can play right away.

“I think it was good, kind of in the flow of the game plan, and opened up stuff in the run game, pass game, all that stuff,” Warren said. “It was a good start.”

Indianapolis also used Warren as a weapon to create advantages in the running game.

A lot of young NFL tight ends struggle as an in-line blocker — the product of college offenses asking the tight end to essentially be a big slot — but Warren played at Penn State, a pro-style offense that moved Warren all over the formation. Warren may not be an extra tackle like Mo Alie-Cox, but he can handle the job, and on the same opening drive, the Colts lined him up as an in-line tight end with Drew Ogletree offset next to him, overloading the line and putting Warren at the fulcrum.

Indianapolis also lined Warren up at wide receiver with both Alie-Cox and Ogletree at tight end in a set of “13 personnel” (one running back, three tight ends), a formation that produced Jonathan Taylor’s first big run of the day.

Warren is so versatile that he brought a position back from the dead.

At least in Indianapolis. The Colts lined up Warren a couple of times at fullback, a position that is almost extinct in the NFL, and used his short-yardage ability to pick up a third-and-short with a driving run up the middle.

“You can do a lot with him,” Steichen said. “You guys saw, we lined him up at fullback today and got a short-yardage there with him, do different things with the way we use him in the pass game. We’ll keep getting creative with him.”

Warren’s debut was so tantalizing because it felt like the Colts were barely scratching the surface of what he can bring to the offense. A massive player who tips the scales at 260 pounds, Warren’s agility and aggressive nature make him an ideal candidate to be the kind of open-field blocker the Colts haven’t had since Jack Doyle, a rare commodity in the NFL.

The rookie does not have Doyle’s precision yet, but the willingness is there. Warren broke off routes and sprinted to get in front of other receivers a couple of times, using his speed and agility to give his teammate a blocker down the field.

He also has the ability to handle the ball in just about any manner the coaches can dream of giving it to him. Alie-Cox took a tight end screen for 20 yards on Sunday; Warren’s open-field ability makes him an ideal candidate for those types of plays, and his between-the-tackles ability leaves open the possibility of Warren taking Wildcat snaps at quarterback in addition to opening up the fullback pages of the playbook that have long been closed.

“He’s a dangerous guy with the ball in his hands, he’s going to make extra yards,” Jones said. “He’s physical, he’s going to go up and make the tough catch. He does a lot for us.” 

From the looks of it, Warren can do a lot more.

Maybe even anything Steichen can imagine.

Joel A. Erickson covers the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.