What are the Colts looking for in a TE? 'They have to be able to play on all three downs'

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22-04-2025

What are the Colts looking for in a TE? 'They have to be able to play on all three downs'
INDIANAPOLIS -- Everyone seems to know what the Colts need most on offense entering this year's NFL Draft, and the general manager isn't trying to hide it either.
On a team with major offensive line investments and an All-Pro running back, with a two-headed quarterback competition and three wide receivers who just topped 800 receiving yards apiece, one position stands out as a major void in production, experience and investment.
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Tight end.
'They have to be able to play on all three downs, but one that can affect the middle of the field," general manager Chris Ballard said. "... if we had a chance to take one that we think can really make a difference, we will do it."
The Colts have been linked to tight ends in the first round of mock drafts more than any other position this spring. They sit at No. 14, where either Penn State's Tyler Warren or Michigan's Colston Loveland have provided some strong swings on upside at a position that has haunted the Colts for a few years now.
Indianapolis had a strong run for years with Jack Doyle, who grew from an undrafted free agent into a two-time Pro Bowler who could move the chains with 155 career first-down catches and a blocking acumen that allowed Jonathan Taylor to hit NFL rushing title highs in 2021.
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That was the season Doyle retired, and the Colts have faced a void ever since. Last year, the group plummeted to levels where it ranked either last or second-to-last in almost every major statistical category and Kylen Granson led the group with 14 catches for 182 yards without seeing the end zone.
The drop-off has left Ballard to reminisce on the last one who made his life easy.
"One of the most underappreciated players to ever come to this program is Jack Doyle," Ballard said. "... He was great. I don't think everybody recognized that, but all he did was block the edge consistently, do all the dirty work and catch every ball thrown to him. Like that's all he did, and he gave us a real threat in the middle of the field. Was he a dynamic, going to average 15, 16 yards a catch? No, but he was a damn good player."
What made Doyle such a good player, Ballard said, is that he possessed what the general manager is looking for this year: an array of skills rather than just one trademark one.
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"The three-down part is big," Ballard said. "Look, all of them have to be functional enough to block. That's, to me, the hard one to find. The second you don't have a guy that can block is the second the coaching staff is griping and saying, 'We've got to have a guy that can block.'
"But to be able to play on all three downs, to be able to be functional in the run game to where you don't necessarily know it's always a pass when he's in the game and then to be able to finish and make plays at critical times and have him give the quarterback an option in the middle of the field.'
It's hard to find a rookie tight end who can check all of those boxes out of the gates. It's considered the most developmental position behind quarterback because most options are either specialized as receivers or blockers in college, and the transition to the NFL can be steep in order to master the playbook in the run and pass games and to have the strength and experience to master both route running and blocking against NFL bodies.
But it's a critical mix to a team like the Colts, who have a young quarterback who needs to make an immediate accuracy jump in Anthony Richardson Sr. and an All-Pro running back in Taylor who has been searching for the explosive heights of his 2021 season since Doyle retired.
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Right now, the Colts have Mo Alie-Cox and Drew Ogletree back as blocking tight ends, and they have 2023 fifth-round pick Will Mallory as a developing flex tight end. They let Granson walk to the Eagles in free agency.
Last year, Brock Bowers was the clear top option in a thin class and went off the board two picks before the Colts selected at No. 13 to the Raiders. Then he went on to win Offensive Rookie of the Year with more than 1,100 receiving yards and five touchdowns.
Bowers wasn't the most diverse player, but he could fit the functional blocker mold that Ballard spoke of. A similar case could be made for Loveland, who did play in-line in the Big Ten Conference in a run-heavy offense at Michigan, though his best traits are in route running and catching the ball.
SCOUTING REPORT: How Michigan TE Colston Loveland can fit the Colts
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Warren stands out as the most well-rounded in the class and the closest to what the Colts had in Doyle. He turned in a massive season with 104 catches for 1,233 yards and eight touchdowns at Penn State while also serving as a versatile and powerful member of a run game that sprung two 1,000-yard running backs on the path to college football's final four.
Warren's rare all-around game has him rising up draft boards, however, to a point where the Colts might have to trade up to compete with teams like the Jaguars at No. 5, the Jets at No. 7 or the Bears at No. 10.
SCOUTING REPORT: How Penn State TE Tyler Warren can fit the Colts
It's a move that ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said the Colts have to consider, given their hole at the position.
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"He's not just a tight end," Kiper said. "He's kind of like Brock Bowers was. We call him a weapon, a receiving entity whom you can move around in the backfield. (Warren) was a quarterback. He was a great basketball player in high school. He's got strong hands. He gets the contested catches. He runs after the catch so hard. You can play him anywhere."
Thursday night's first round will hold the answers.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts draft: Why they want a 3-down tight end in this year's draft