TE Tyler Warren Prospect Deep Dive: It May Be Fair to Ask if He Could Be a Souped-Up Version of Tasyom Hill In a Way

No player to come out recently epitomizes what it means to be a Tight End more than Tyler Warren. Like Taysom Hill, Warren has been used in all sorts of ways in Penn State’s offense. While I don’t think he’s quite as versatile as Hill, he can still run many plays taking the snap while throwing a little bit when asked of on trick plays. I think Hill is probably a better QB than Warren. However, I see a higher upside as a pure Tight End with Warren. Quickly into watching the film, there’s just something that stuck out about this guy.

Early success at Tight End seems more predicated on the grit and cerebral aspect of their game than their pure physical traits. Look at someone as uber-talented as Kyle Pitts for example, and then look at the success of someone like Sam LaPorta. With Warren, I feel that grit and cerebral aspect is there for him. We’ll get into exactly why that is but this is one of my favorites this year. I don’t even mean that as in just his draft grade, but this is just a fun, lovable player to watch.

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Tyler Warren’s Stats (per PFF)

Film Analysis

The clip above is a fantastic example of the kind of stuff Penn State would do with Warren. He lines up straight up as an O-Linemen and runs a seam route up the middle while the whole trickery goes on in the backfield. The catch alone is something special as the vertical jumping and concentration are incredible here.

Working out of the Slot here, Warren is faced in man against a DB and while doesn’t create much separation, displays excellent ball tracking and toughness at the catch point.

On a QB draw, Warren nearly takes it half the field and almost scores. When he’s able to throw decently, that pump fake to the left was a real threat. That allowed his blocks to set up in place and his toughness and creativity as a runner is remarkable.

Grades

OVR Grade: 1-100

Tyler Warren’s Pros And Cons

Tyler Warren Bio

Tyler Warren blends the traits of a modern Tight End with being uniquely flexible and versatile. Pair him with Sean Payton or Kyle Shanahan who’d be able to make his versatility shine and he could be the souped-up version of what Taysom Hill was for years.

Pros

• Prototypical size/ length paired with his terrific movement skills allow him to play any style of Tight End, from being a wing, an inline, or just in the Slot.
• Explosive athlete with high vertical jumping ability. Will overall have a very high RAS.
• Excellent vision of the field in general and knows how to get extra yardage after the catch. Finished the 2024 season with 19 missed tackles forced (ranked second out of TEs including playoffs).
• Sneaky and subtle ability to slip out of the trenches after selling a block. Easy guy to lose track of for some reason.
• Plenty of raw strength and size to grow into a dominant run blocker. Has some dominant reps, but there were some games he just wasn’t a major part of the run-blocking scheme.
• Capable of making some very awkward and difficult catches. His catch radius alone gives him a good upside.
• Used to have massive drop problems but now that’s a strength of his.
• Showed he could beat press coverage when it was thrown at him.
• As touched on, Warren can be used in all sorts of ways such as feeding him screens, running read options with him as QB, lead blocking him like a Fullback, or even having him occasionally make a throw. He has a QB background and was a multisport athlete.
• A ton of experience playing in all sorts of roles at Penn State.

Cons

• While Warren has exceptional size, he’s no unicorn of an athlete; 40 time may just be a tad underwhelming for someone with a lot of hype.
• To be critical, his blocking technique could be cleaned up a bit, not to say he doesn’t have many promising moments there.
• While the foot quickness and explosiveness are there, he’s a bit stiff to change directions.

Combine

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Pro Day

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All-22 Exposures

• Illinois, 2023
• West Virginia, 2024
• USC, 2024
• Ohio State, 2024
• Oregon, 2024

Best Potential Landing Spots for Tyler Warren

• SF 49ers
• DEN Broncos

Final Conclusion on Tyler Warren

I don’t think it’s controversial whether this guy is good or whether he gives Taysom Hill vibes. However, the age-old question is where do you take a Tight End in the draft, especially with someone as unique as Warren? I could see the hesitation with taking him top ten in a class like last year but this year, we can all agree the top-end talent isn’t as strong. If I believed in my offensive coach to get the best use out of Warren, I’d consider him top-five this year. Just with the wide array of different shenanigans, you can do with him alone, that increases his floor dramatically. Unless a significant injury problem showed up, I don’t see how he wouldn’t pay dividends for a team that knew how to use him.

You can say Tight End isn’t worth taking high or that Warren in particular doesn’t have some amazing upside. However, I just see a genuine football head in him and I could see him having a killer start just like Bowers did this year. Watching Warren’s film and highlights is like the aspect of football I never thought I needed up until now. It was very offtaking seeing him line up in all the wild formations, doing all sorts of gimmicky plays, but satisfying, to say the least. I’m very eager to see who ends up taking Warren as I feel if he goes to some subpar OC, he’ll just be a good but not special player. Ultimately, he probably doesn’t fail, but I’d love to see his upside get fully maximized.

Value – 1st Tight End/ 1st RD