Who's the NFL Draft's TE1, Tyler Warren or Colston Loveland? - nile sport

Nate Tice's other draft profiles: Cam Ward | Shedeur Sanders | Jaxson Dart and Tyler Shough

Tight ends generally take time to develop. So how do NFL teams gauge when to spend a pick on a player who might have a timeline to productivity that looks more like an MLB draft pick?

It’s a steep learning curve to learn to be an NFL tight end, even for the most talented of players. This year’s draft class features a fun group of tight end prospects with different flavors and projected tier levels. Including two who seem to be considered in a tier of their own at the top.

With apologies to the other talented players at the position this year, Penn State’s Tyler Warren and Michigan’s Colston Loveland have emerged as the consensus top two players among tight end prospects. What do Warren and Loveland provide at such a demanding position? And are they worth taking on Day 1 despite the possibility of low early returns?

I dove deep on both players to determine who I would give the final nod to on the big board and what each player is bringing to the NFL.

What does Tyler Warren bring to the table?

The first thing that comes up when watching Warren is locating him on any given play. Warren lined up across the formation at Penn State; he had 281 snaps from the slot in 2024 and 30 snaps as a wildcat quarterback or on sneak plays (finishing with 189 rushing yards). Warren even had a touchdown after being aligned as the de facto center on a play where he made an incredible catch to haul the double-pass in for the score.

Warren is a good athlete and was a legitimate receiving threat when split out in college, but his athleticism doesn’t show up with pure speed or twitch. Balance and coordination are where Warren shines. As a receiver, he constantly shows the ability to adjust for passes all around his body and then easily transition into being a runner after hauling in the throw. As a runner it’s contact balance, he can run through an arm tackler and keep moving forward.

Even on what might seem like more basic plays, Warren displays his functional athleticism, which is especially highlighted on outbreaking routes and seam routes. Watch on the plays above how Warren is able to adjust for throws, keep his feet and get north in one fluid motion.

Warren consistently picks up yards with the ball in his hands, too. Some of his best plays are on tight end screens designed for him. He has quick feet to put a move on the first defender and is a rugged runner who is willing to lower his shoulder. And while he’s not overly explosive, Warren has some burst to get to the edge against flat-footed defenders, with some vision to boot.

Warren was highly productive for Penn State this season and was the engine of its offense. His standard stats are great (104 receptions, 1,233 receiving yards, 12 total touchdowns), and his underlying metrics point to a standout season, with Warren ranking second among qualifying FBS tight ends in yards, explosive receptions, and first downs per route. He was reliable for Penn State and it often defaulted to getting the ball in his hands whenever the Nittany Lions hit a rut. That reliability as a receiver is going to be his calling card at the next level.

Questions and potential fits for Tyler Warren

Despite Warren aligning across the formation in college, there has been plenty of discussion and a projection of Warren being used more as a “traditional” tight end in the NFL. That is, a true “Y” tight end who can align next to a tackle and hold his own at the point of attack against edge defenders as a blocker on one play, and then stay on the field to run a full route tree on the next play. Tight ends are difficult to project and just as difficult to find. Finding a “Y” tight end who can also be a legitimate threat in a passing game is as hard to find as El Dorado.

After studying Warren, I came out with more questions about his blocking ability than answers. There is toughness and the athleticism to keep his feet and stay balanced on contact. But Warren’s length and lower body strength, or lack thereof (Warren’s arms measured below 32 inches at the scouting combine), also shows up. And that’s against college athletes and not the bigger, faster and longer defenders in the NFL.

Warren wasn’t asked to block defensive ends often in college. And when he was asked to block at the point of attack, it was on zone concepts where he received help from an offensive tackle. A lot of his blocking clips, even the ones from in-line alignments, are against defensive backs. This isn’t to say that Warren can’t do it at the next level, but Penn State’s offensive coaches seemed cognizant to make sure Warren was off the ball, on the move or used as an insert blocker on linebackers. Those are the plays where Warren shines as a blocker since he gets to work on the move against smaller defenders where his length can be mitigated.

The fact that Warren is more of a passable blocker than a clear winning player from in-line spots also changes the equation when discussing his value. Versatility, reliable hands and the ability to get some yards with the ball are definitely valuable. But not having the clear elite athletic traits or length to stand out as a true in-line player makes it hard to justify going earlier (to me) than in the back half of the first round of the draft. Receiving tight ends have value, and are being used more creatively (and hidden better as blockers) than ever before by modern offensive coordinators.

Warren’s lack of elite traits can also show up against man coverage. Even on passes that he hauls in, Warren would have some issues in man coverage separating from more athletic defensive backs. This is another area that gets only harder in the NFL and could be a tougher ask for Warren as he jumps up a level and might limit his effectiveness to being a super zone beater. Picking nits here, but Warren is going to have to be aligned in certain ways to maximize his skills, as opposed to having a true, clear-cut, scheme-proof player profile. It becomes an assessment of if Warren can beat safeties in the NFL and a sliding scale of whether he brings more value than just putting a big slot receiver out there to accomplish the same thing (without as heavy of an investment).

A current player I would compare Warren to is Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride. McBride, a former second-round draft pick, was a highly productive player in college who was also the featured player in his college offense. Like Warren, McBride has just middling length (32 1/2-inch arms at the combine) which limits his ability to be a consistent in-line blocker that the Cardinals can use at the point of attack.

He is not a bad blocker, he just has to be used in certain roles and hidden from others. When the Cardinals are in two-or-three tight end looks, McBride is generally the “F” or “move” tight end in wing positions or split out. And his blocking assignments generally are as a part of a double-team, on the back side, or on a linebacker or a defensive back (as opposed to a true defensive lineman). McBride is a smooth athlete who wins with balance and hand-eye coordination (and will also sprinkle in a hurdle now and again). He has turned into a legitimate top-five tight end in the NFL — evident by Thursday's reported heavy investment in him from the Cardinals — because of his reliable receiving ability and ability to eat up a steady diet of yards after the catch.

For a comparison to a player from the past, I think Warren has similarities to former Indianapolis Colts tight end Dallas Clark. Clark was drafted 24th overall in 2003 and was a productive secondary option for Peyton Manning in Indianapolis. Clark was a key component for the Colts' ability to stay in the same two-tight end personnel groupings, switching between in-line spots (often on the back side of run plays in the Colts' zone-heavy run game) and as the Colts' de facto slot receiver.

Warren is a bit taller than Clark was (6-foot-5 1/2 at the combine, compared to Clark's 6-3 ½), but they weighed in similarly at their respective combines and with similar arm length as well — Clark weighed in at 257 pounds with 32-inch arm length compared to 256 and 31 3/4 for Warren). How McBride is currently used and how Clark was used in the past is exactly how I envision Warren’s best role in the NFL: a receiving tight end that can split out for certain looks as a valid, but perhaps not explosive, pass catcher that can also scrap a bit in the run game. This isn’t a 1:1 player comparison, but Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson is another player with a similar type of role in an offense as a secondary pass catcher and having a blocking tight end on the roster to do more of the traditional tasks (Josh Oliver in this case).

Teams like the Colts, Seahawks and Chargers all make sense given their roster construction. All have other receiving options that don’t put the onus on Warren to be a high-volume player right away while also having tight ends (or a scheme, in the Colts' case, with their use of RPOs) that can do the dirty work to free Warren up as a receiver.

Overall, I liked Warren and think he can be a strong secondary pass catcher to pair with other options or a true ace receiver. And while he’s not an outright negative as a blocker in the run game, teams will just have to be realistic in their asks in that area.

What does Colston Loveland bring to the table? And how does he compare to Warren?

What’s nice about the two tight ends I’m writing about is that they have tangible production to point at. Sometimes prospecting for the best tight end just ends up being “pick the biggest and best athlete and hope they figure it out before their rookie contract wraps up.” Warren ranked near the top of the underlying statistics that I like to look at, but so did Loveland, both in his shortened 2024 season (in which Loveland played 10 games) and throughout his career at Michigan.

Loveland ranked third in yards per route run and first downs per route run among qualifying FBS tight ends in 2024, and ranked seventh and sixth in the same categories for his career among the 204 qualifying FBS tight ends since 2020. (Warren ranked 15th and 13th for his career in the same respective categories.) Loveland also put up those numbers in 2024 with what I would consider quite horrific quarterback play in Ann Arbor.

Loveland is a dynamic receiver, a fluid athlete whose ability to sink and get in and out of his routes makes him appear smaller than he actually is, an injustice to his nearly 6-6 frame. He can not only stretch the field with his ability to get vertical in a hurry, but more advanced breaking routes are already part of his arsenal because of just how fluid of an athlete he is.

Loveland can get defenders on their toes in a hurry with his speed, showing off potential as a space creator for an offense on routes like seams and digs. Loveland already displays some polish on his route tree as well, with little touches like leans on his routes to keep defenders off balance, all while not losing steam as he stampedes downfield. He seldom was clamped down in man coverage (Texas’ Jahdae Barron gave him a good battle, though) and he has the size and frame to be a good target against zone coverages.

Loveland also has youth on his side — he turns 21 next week, almost two years younger than Warren, who turns 23 in May — while also measuring in slightly taller (6-5 3/4) and with longer arms (32 3/4). Those longer arms bring me to my next point.

Like other Michigan prospects, I was worried that Loveland’s film would taper off as Michigan’s season did the same. And going into this film study, I expected Loveland to have further to go as a blocker in comparison to Warren. But as the film of the 2024 season went along, Loveland really came into his own as a blocker. Not just out in space against smaller off-ball defenders, but from in-line spots blocking edge defenders as well.

I would even dare to say that there isn’t any projection needed of Loveland being a better blocker than Warren; I think he is already at that level and I would give him the overall edge. There are real flashes of length, athleticism, and strength (with room to add more) that show that he can hold up as he steps up to the NFL. I think Loveland shows he can sustain his blocks at a more consistent level than Warren, and on more difficult assignments, too. This isn’t to say that Warren is a slouch, but more that Loveland showed rapid improvement in the area and shows a lot of promise that there is even more to tap into as he continues to develop.

It’s not all perfect with Loveland. There are times when he might get out of whack with his hand placement or have a misstep. But Michigan was comfortable running behind Loveland, sometimes right after he was the receiver of an explosive play (sometimes two).

As a receiver, Loveland (just like Warren) shows off the ability to create a bit with the ball in his hands and also the fluidity to contort his body for throws outside of his frame. Loveland is really able to chew up yards once he’s able to get his legs going, but still agile enough to set up his blockers or make a defender miss right after the catch. Loveland is an athlete before and after the catch.

Is Tyler Warren or Colston Loveland TE1 this NFL Draft?

If you can’t tell by this point, I’m bullish on Loveland. He has been consistently in my top 25 throughout this process, even back to this summer. But sitting down and watching his season progress on film made me even more encouraged about what he can be at the next level.

While I thought Warren would be the better “Y” prospect when comparing these two talented players, I think Loveland has more potential to be that true “Y” tight end that every team covets so badly. He won’t be in-line bashing against the Myles Garretts and Montez Sweats of the world on every down. But the fact that it’s a real option for an offense to use has a lot of value, while also not being pure projection like some (most) tight end prospects are.

Warren may have played more roles in college, but it’s kind of funny that Loveland’s ability to play more traditionally may actually add to his versatility, and thus appeal and value at the NFL level. Loveland has the athleticism and frame that is preferred out of tight end prospects, with tangible production and some real polish to his game, too. He will still have to add strength and continue to refine his technique. But I do think he is already at an adequate baseline as he enters the pro ranks. And while Michigan’s offense was an abomination in 2024, it does translate nicely to what Loveland will be asked to do at the next level.

I thought of quite a few comparisons for Warren, but I struggle to really think of any for Loveland off the top of my head. There are some Owen Daniels vibes here, but Loveland is bigger and more explosive. Todd Heap was another name that came to mind, especially with Loveland’s frame and athleticism. Either way, those are good players to be compared to!

Warren and Loveland have paths to be strong contributors as receivers, but it’s Loveland’s potential as a true in-line blocker that gives him the edge to me, with the added variables of youth and other traits helping tip it over, too. I think there’s more to tap into with Loveland.

But it’s still two fun prospects in a class full of them at the position. Loveland’s potential to be a winning player at different spots also makes it easier to find a role on a team for him, and for him to have more potential landing spots in the draft. Even if teams in the top 10 like the Jets at No. 7 or the Bears at 10 took Loveland, I wouldn’t be fazed. It might seem rich, but I do think Loveland’s stock is one worth buying.