NFL: JUN 11 Indianapolis Colts OTA
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INDIANAPOLIS – JT Tuimoloau has vivid memories of the matchup.
Even though the Tyler Warren highlight reel doesn’t include much against the scarlet and gray, Tuimoloau remembers the battle from one No. 44 to another No. 44.
“I love the way he plays,” Tuimoloau says of college enemy turned NFL teammate.
“He’s a rugged athlete. He doesn’t do too much talking, but he talks with his hands, and his pads, and his athletic ability.”
“With him, you are getting a silent assassin. That’s a Swiss army knife. That just shows you how much tools he has in the bag. You are not just getting a tight end, you are getting a lot of other weapons within one person.”
That’s a nice in-person endorsement from the Colts second-round pick.
With the full acknowledgment that Warren has yet to don full pads in the NFL, he certainly showed this spring what the Colts saw in the draft evaluation.
During the draft process, Colts offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter seemed to particularly appreciate the multiple ways Penn State employed Warren.
“Offensively, they did a bunch of really unique, cool stuff, last year,” Cooter said of Warren at Penn State. “To watch (Warren) line up in different spots, motion from different spots, two different spots, and really execute a lot of different tasks, most tight ends, I’ve got a receiving tape (and) watch his pass targets,. I’ve got a run blocking tape. I’ve got a pass protection tape. With him, I’ve got a running the ball tape – you don’t get many of those with the tight end. And then I’ve actually got a little passing tape.
“So, we’ve got a lot of Tyler Warren tapes back there. He’s super versatile for them.”
If you want to pinpoint specific areas that puts Warren into that unique category, his versatility would fall on that list.
He averaged an eye-popping 8 yards per carry at Penn State, something the Colts will certainly try to explore as early as this fall.
“That’s one thing that really stuck out,” Colts tight ends coach Tom Manning says of Warren’s impressive yards after catch style to his game. “He’s a very good natural runner with the ball, he’s elusive in breaking tackles and just found a way to get those yards. That is a unique skillset. I think it’s sometimes inherent. When it comes naturally, it’s a gift.”
It’s this combination—“rugged athlete” plus a “natural runner”—that had the Colts wanting Warren so badly in this draft.