NFL.com recently put together a shortlist of candidates for Offensive Rookie of the Year, and Colts tight end Tyler Warren came in second on the list (behind only Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka).
Warren, whether he wins the honor or not, has put together a compelling case to be considered the most impactful rookie on offense in the NFL this season. The best place to start is the most obvious one: What Warren has done as a pass catcher.
Warren, though 10 games, has caught 50 of 67 targets for 617 yards with four total touchdowns. Only two tight ends since 1970 have had more receiving yards in the first 10 games of their career than Warren; those would be the Las Vegas Raiders' Brock Bowers (706 yards on 70 catches in 2024) and the Atlanta Falcons' Kyle Pitts (635 yards on 43 catches in 2021).
Those two players are joined by Hall of Famer Mike Ditka as the only rookie tight ends in NFL history to have over 1,000 receiving yards; Ditka, per Sports Reference's database, had 869 receiving yards in his first 10 career games with the Chicago Bears in 1961.
However you look at it, Warren is having a historic, top-five-in-NFL-history start to his career from a pass-catching standpoint. He's on pace for 114 targets, 85 catches and 1,049 yards, which if he were to hit that last number would put him in that 1,000-yard group with Bowers, Pitts and Ditka.
But where he's differentiating himself from modern guys like Bowers and Pitts is in how the Colts have utilized him – and the success this offense has collectively had with Warren playing all over the field.
"I think it's awesome," head coach Shane Steichen said. "I think anytime you have a player that's multiple, that can do different things and put him in positions to do those, and he's successful doing them, you add more to the table when you find different things on tape that you think he can take advantage of."
| Position | # of snaps | % of snaps | Colts offense EPA/snap |
|---|---|---|---|
| TE (in-line) | 274 | 50.3% | +.228 |
| Slot | 161 | 29.5% | +.090 |
| Wide | 60 | 11.0% | +.018 |
| FB | 45 | 8.2% | +.242 |
| HB | 3 | 0.6% | -1.183 |
| QB | 2 | 0.4% | -.175 |
Those five snaps at halfback and quarterback are a small sample size and amount to 1 percent of Warren's total snaps, so don't worry too much about them here. Also, these plays are just when Warren is on the field, not necessarily when he's targeted on a route; that's important because it includes running plays.
"He's been tremendous through the whole season, really from the beginning," quarterback Daniel Jones said. "And just a really, really good football player, smart football player, is always in the right spot, can do so many different things. You can line him up all over the field, which makes it tough for defenses to account for him."
For some context, the NFL's average EPA per play entering Week 12 is -.004; the Colts lead the NFL with +.165 EPA per play. Digging a little deeper here, when Warren is on the field for running plays, the Colts are averaging +.170 EPA per play and 5.5 yards per rushing attempt, per Pro Football Focus.
There's not a great way to quantify Warren's impact on the Colts' running game, but it feels safe to say if he was not doing his part as a blocker, these numbers would be worse.
The other part of Warren's success that shouldn't be overlooked is how he's carved out a consistent role in the Colts' passing offense, which features established pass-catchers like Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce and Josh Downs. There's a chance Warren helps the Colts have multiple 1,000-yard receivers for the first time since 2009 (Dallas Clark, Reggie Wayne); if, say, Warren, Pittman (580 yards entering Week 12) and Pierce (585 yards entering Week 12) all were to eclipse 1,000 yards, it'd be the second time that's happened in franchise history (Marvin Harrison, Brandon Stokley and Wayne did it in 2004).
Point being: Warren has earned every target he's received and every snap he's taken as a run blocker.
Warren, too, has a shot at becoming only the second player in Colts history to have 1,000 receiving yards as a rookie; Ring of Honor wide receiver Bill Brooks (1,131 yards in 1986) is the other.
"I've just been really impressed – I wouldn't say I've been surprised," Jones said. "I think since he got here in the spring, he was that way. So yeah, but I do think it's rare to have a rookie come in and pretty much from Day 1, pick it up, know what he's supposed to do, have a sense for getting open, have a sense for space and making as many plays as he's made. He's done a great job for us."
