INDIANAPOLIS — Tyler Warren wears the No. 44 because, as a kid, his dad showed him John Riggins and said, “This is how I want you to run the ball.” Warren isn’t a typical tight end prospect. He’s a former high school quarterback who grew up idolizing fullbacks. Warren did it all at Penn State this past season, when he won the Mackey Award and became a consensus All-American.
Now, he’s grown into arguably the top tight end in the NFL Draft, where he will almost certainly be a first-round selection in April. Warren was the prized piece of Andy Kotelnicki’s offense with the Nittany Lions, carrying the weight of a unit that lacked starpower at wide receiver and ultimately reached the College Football Playoff semifinals in January.
Warren should make the job of his next offensive coordinator easy. He’s willing to do anything, whether that’s catch, run, block, throw or punt. There remain question marks whether he’ll be the first tight end drafted. But the consensus among players at the NFL Combine who’ve faced Warren is that he’s the most challenging tight end they’ve ever attempted to contain.
“What I try to be as a player is unselfish. Whether it’s catching 15 passes in a game or having 100 run block reps, I’m going to do either of those things to the best of my ability,” Warren said on Thursday. “If we win, I’m going to be happy either way.”
Will it be Warren or Michigan’s Coloston Loveland? That’s the question on the mind of every NFL general manager interested in selecting a tight end in the first round. Washington linebacker Carson Bruener has played both, and, without hesitation, he admitted that Warren was the most dynamic tight end he’s had to game plan for.
“Just the way they used him. He would line up at Wildcat, quarterback, running back, No. 1 receiver, tight end,” Bruener said. “I mean, he’s a heck of a player, and it’s something that we really had to game plan for and know, like, he can be anywhere. He was their leading receiver coming into the game against us at Penn State, so we really had to account for him, know where he’s at, everywhere on the field.”
Warren attempted two passes and scored two rushing touchdowns against Bruener’s defense. He also led the Nittany Lions with eight catches in that game, which he turned into 75 receiving yards. These are video game numbers, and only scratch the surface of what Warren was able to do against his opponents this past year.
Wisconsin safety Hunter Wohler had the unfortunate task of preparing for Warren after his commanding performance at USC, a contest in which he hauled in 17 receptions for 224 yards. That game will maybe most be remembered for the play that saw Warren snap a ball to the quarterback and catch a touchdown over a defender in the same sequence. Just insane.
“The week of preparation, having to understand where he’s going to be and where they want to put him,” Wohler said. “He lined up at every position on the field. … It was like you had to try to see it quick and understand it quick and then get lined up for the play. So, besides the fact that he’s a great football player, on the fundamental side of things, they challenged us a lot.”
Oregon linebacker Jeffrey Bassa, manning the Ducks’ in-helmet communication microphone, remembers the “shifts and motions to get him open” in the Big Ten Championship. Warren was Penn State’s leading receiver in that game, and the overwhelming attention on him helped running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen each eclipse 100 rushing yards.
When Warren couldn’t find an edge in the passing game, he most likely found another way to make an impact. Against Ohio State, which held the Nittany Lions to a season-low 13 points, Warren was stalled on the receiving end by a staunch secondary, but he made his money’s worth on 47 rushing yards, including a long of 33 yards that put Penn State at the goal line.
“You never knew that he would line up somewhere pre-snap, motion and he’s in a completely different spot post-snap,” Buckeyes safety Lathan Ransom said.
The final game of Warren’s career ended in defeat.
But the football world that had watched him blossom into one of the most versatile offensive weapons in recent memory ultimately won. Warren was like none other. He wowed spectators week in and out, and made those around him — particularly those who covered him — better through the unique challenge he presented. Notre Dame’s Xavier Watts won’t soon forget that opportunity.
“Just having to be prepared for a certain player like that, I know at the next level everybody is a good player, so some guys are superstars and they’re gonna game plan to get them the ball,” Watts said. “So just having that experience with Tyler Warren was similar to what I’m gonna try to get in the NFL.”
