Colts' 'Nightmare' Draft Scenario Uncovered

The Indianapolis Colts are only two days away from the first round of the NFL draft, with plenty of outcomes for their 14th overall pick. Will the Colts stay? Trade back? Or forward? Regardless, the biggest need for the squad is adding a dynamic tight end.

Penn State's Tyler Warren has been the most mocked player to the Colts in expert/analyst drafts, but The 33rd Team doesn't think this is the case. They believe that Warren to the Colts might be a 'nightmare' scenario.

Here's the breakdown from Ian Valentino.

"Warren is an exciting athlete who would help Anthony Richardson, but would Richardson utilize him enough to justify taking Warren here? Loveland has a more traditional game where he doesn't need schemed touches to move the chains," exclaims Valentino. "At least the argument that the Michigan product would stabilize the Colts' offense on third downs has more functional reasoning to it."

Valentino believes that Michigan's Colston Loveland might better fit Shane Steichen's offense than the Mackey Award winner in 2024. Loveland dealt with an injury, but caught 56 passes for 582 yards and five touchdowns in just 10 games.

However, Warren was a revelation, catching 104 passes for 1,233 receiving yards and eight scores. He also ran the football 26 times for 218 rushing yards and another four touchdowns, adding up to 12 all-purpose touchdowns.

It's hard to envision Anthony Richardson not utilizing the tight end position if Warren is selected, but his accuracy was brutal last year (47.7 percent). While he's struggled with his accuracy, getting a tight end like Warren can have a positive impact almost immediately.

Valentino continues on Warren and why the Colts might want to use their 14th overall pick elsewhere.

"The Colts also need to weigh the importance of finding a future starting player and an immediate contributor at defensive tackle or linebacker. With DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart now both 31 years old, that position calls for some fresh talent. Fortunately, this year’s draft features a strong class of defensive tackles, making it reasonable to choose an impactful prospect at the No. 14 pick.

The Colts don't need to select a defensive tackle in the first round to make an impact at the position and potentially find a suitor to replace either DeForest Buckner or Grover Stewart. It feels like the only way that happens in the first round is if Warren and Loveland are gone by the 14th selection.

While the Colts can use more interior defensive tackle assistance, don't expect Chris Ballard to pass up one of the choice tight ends to attack the defensive tackle position in round one.

Indy is in a season where success has to be on the brain more than anything. Ballard's seat is on fire and he likely has no more slack on his leash with Jim Irsay. While the long-time owner has shown faith in Ballard, mediocrity can only last for so long.

The first round of the NFL draft kicks on at 8pm EST on Thursday in Green Bay, Wisconsin. We'll see where the Colts decide to go with their 14th overall pick.