Penn State Tight End Tyler Warren Has More to Prove

There is A LOT of hype surrounding Penn State tight end Tyler Warren, so I set out to investigate the game film.

That’s where the clues are found.

It’s a process of extracting the traits from the games and accurately being able to project those traits to the NFL.

He was nothing to write home about as a receiver on his 2023 game film. However, he’s a solid blocking tight end.

Warren came out of nowhere in 2024 as a “first-round prospect,” and while those prospects do warrant my attention, they also scare me. That’s why I went back to look at his full season of game film in 2023 to get a big picture perspective. The longer I watched him, the more I cooled off on him. Before we crown Warren as the heir apparent to Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce, we have to do a deep dive into his 2023 game film.

Other draft platforms

Two of the most respected draft platforms out there are seeing Warren as a first-round prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft. Both The Athletic and the 33rd Team are mocking Warren to the Chiefs (No. 32).

Fox Sports, Sports Illustrated, The Draft Network, and Bleacher Report have also mocked Warren into the first-round since the end of September.

Leading up to the 2024 season according to nflmockdraftdatabase.com, there weren’t any draft platforms seeing Warren as a first-round projection. Leading up to the 2023 season, only one draft platform (Sports Talk) even had Warren ranked as the No. 135 and No. 174 ranked prospect. He had one game in 2023 (Peach Bowl) against Ole Miss with five receptions for 127 yards, and outside of that on his game log, it was mostly just one or two catch games.

Most of the noise on Warren started after he had a breakout 17-catch game against USC October 12.

Put a leather helmet on him

Warren is a fun prospect to watch and he clearly loves the game. That’s what endeared him to me. If any NFL team is looking for a selfless addition, Warren would be it.

But at the right value.

Warren is a pure football player who could’ve played in any era. He is one of the most selfless prospects I’ve ever evaluated. Blocking is an honor for him and he will sacrifice himself for any of his teammates at any time.

I even spotted him on the kickoff return unit doing his thing.

Warren is the type of prospect the late great John Madden would have loved. I can’t think of a higher compliment than that. I also put the highest grade in the draft community on his 2023 film.

Reality ✔️

As a receiver, he’s very average looking on his 2023 game film when it comes to his full body of work.

Warren was targeted 58 times in the short-to-intermediate route range (0-19 yards) and he managed to catch 34 passes (58.6% catch rate).

He mostly was a short-range safety valve and he did a good job of making himself available as a target when his quarterback got in trouble.

He also dropped some passes he should’ve caught.

#44 Tyler Warren 6-foot-6, 257 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s 2024 Fall Grade: Fourth-Round (I would select him)

Projected by 13.3% of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of November 30, 2024 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

2023 game film evaluated: West Virginia, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Northwestern, UMASS, Ohio State, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Rutgers, Michigan State, and Ole Miss (click to view games watched to form this evaluation)

2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Athletic tight end with long arms with decent playing speed and an average catch radius. Offers pre-snap schematic flexibility lining up in different spots. It looked like Penn State viewed him as their second tight end in their two tight end sets. Smooth runner with acceleration. Excels versus zone. Has these little moves and can bend defenders at points, but struggled to create separation vs. man. Routes can look lazy and routes are subject to getting impeded. Good decoy. Run blocks like he means it.

What to watch for during the 2024 college football season

1. Creating separation vs. man coverage?

2. Routes impeded?

3. Sure-handed?

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock, and has written for Sports Illustrated (Lions, Jets, and 49ers), NFL Draft Diamonds, and Yardbarker, as well as a featured guest on ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Radio. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. Follow on Twitter @firstroundmock.