The Indianapolis Colts finished the 2024 NFL season with an 8-9 record, capping off a fourth straight season without a postseason appearance, their longest stretch in over 30 years. Nobody embodies that disappointment more than quarterback Anthony Richardson, whose grasp of the nuances of the position has not yet caught up to his raw physical gifts. Richardson was 6-5 as the Colts starter this season, but had a negative touchdown to interception ratio — 8 to 12 — and completed just 47 percent of his passes.
The Colts won’t cut bait with Richardson yet, even though they briefly benched him during a crucial stretch of the 2024 season. As the 4th overall pick in the 2023 Draft, that would mean admitting defeat far too quickly, especially on a player who was expected to be a multi-year project coming out of the University of Florida.
Instead, most analysts expect that the Colts will look to bolster the supporting cast around Richardson, and in the NFL Draft, Indianapolis may have an opportunity to gift their young QB one of the most intriguing pass-catchers in the 2024 class.
Dane Brugler of The Athletic currently projects the Colts to select Penn State tight end Tyler Warren with the 14th overall pick.
“This pairing is going to be popular throughout the process — and it is easy to see why,” writes Brugler. “Warren will have the testing numbers that general manager Chris Ballard covets, and he is NFL-ready and quarterback-friendly, exactly the combo the Colts should be targeting to help Anthony Richardson develop.”
As Brugler expected, this is seemingly a popular pairing. FOX Sports’ Jason McIntyre is on the same wavelength as his counterpart at The Athletic, mocking the Penn State star to the Colts as well. It makes sense though that the Colts would be eager to bring Tyler Warren into their organization.
The 6-foot-6 multi-faceted offensive weapon was the John Mackey Award winner — Mackey himself was a four-time All-Pro as a member of the Colts, for what it’s worth — a 1st Team All-American, and one of just three tight ends to finish in the top ten of the Heisman Trophy vote in the last 50 years. He would instantly be a shot in the arm for a Colts offense that got only 39 receptions, 467 yards and two touchdowns out of all of their tight ends last season.
The last time the Colts drafted a tight end in the 1st Round, it was Dallas Clark, a longtime favorite of Peyton Manning who has the 9th-most receiving yards in franchise history.
