Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts TE PREVIEW: Tyler Warren Will UNLOCK Shane Steichen's Bag

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Indianapolis Colts tight end room should be much better in 2025 because one key player. Let's get to it. You are locked on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Thank you all for tuning in and making us your first listen of the day. This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel.

Starting point is 00:00:36 Right now, new customers can get $150 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. Hello everyone, my name is Zach Hicks, your resident film nerd of horseshoehuddle.com, and I'm here today continuing the positional preview series that we have been running for the channel here. We have been diving into just about every single position on offense and defense.

Starting point is 00:00:58 We only have a couple left here, and next up is the tight end room. So we're gonna talk about the key starters or players that are in line to be starters heading into training camp. We're going to talk about key rotational players competing for a spot and then diving into those bubble players that we all know and love heading into camp as well. Let's kick it off with the starters.

Starting point is 00:01:18 I did put three players in this segment today just because I think one of these guys is the bona fide starter, the very top of the depth chart and these other two are competing for that other like 12 personnel type of starting room and that is Tyler Warren obviously at the very top the Colts first round pick and then Mo Ali Cox and Drew Ogletree competing for that 12 personnel spot behind him and just to preface this this topic and just this group of players here, I'm happy that we have matched cornerback and tight end as back to back shows on the channel for this preview series because I think they kind of are very similar to how

Starting point is 00:01:57 the Colts approach them this offseason just in terms of these were the two weakest positions on the roster last offseason and last season in particular. The Colts were just not particularly good at corner or tight end and they really addressed it this off season in vastly different ways, but they certainly addressed both of those rooms. This off season, the Colts obviously signing Travarious Ward on defense to fill the cornerback void and then getting Tyler Warren in the draft to really bolster their tight end room. So last year you're looking at a group that had Mo Ali Cox, Drew Ogletree as your top tight ends along with guys like Kylan Grantz and other players we're going to mention on

Starting point is 00:02:32 here. Now you get that bonafide number one guy in Tyler Warren. And yeah, I think that he is going to be the guy that changes this entire room. I'm not going to sit here and say he's going to have a Brock Bowers type of rookie season and just shoot out to league leaders and get a thousand yard season right away. But I do think he's going to be a big more like a big vocal part of this offense focal point of this offense. Excuse me focal part of this offense this year and be really involved in the short to intermediate game and open a lot of things up for this Colts team. I mean, if you look back to Shane Steichen's career in the NFL as a play caller, he has leaned on tight ends in just about every destination aside from his time with the Colts.

Starting point is 00:03:14 And I don't think that's any coincidence. You know, if you look back at the what he had with the Chargers, he had Hunter Henry. They were force feeding Hunter Henry. He had some really productive seasons there. You look at his time with the Eagles, Dallas Goddard and Zach Ertz were really feasting with Jalen Hertz. He comes to the Indianapolis Colts and he just doesn't have that number one tight end until now. Tyler Warren is the Colts number one tight end. He's going to be a focal point of the receiving game.

Starting point is 00:03:41 I think he's got some some Jack Doyle upside when it comes to his run blocking as well. Just in terms of being a versatile like do it all kind of run blocker on the move. I really like this fit in the Colts offense. It gives their team another playmaker in the underneath game. He can create after the catch. He can be used in the tight end screen game, which we saw the Colts use quite a bit this past the past two seasons with Shane Steichen. And I just think he's going to be a really rock solid player for this offense. So you add him to a tight end room that had a lot of role players and had a lot of, you know, backup rotational type guys at best.

Starting point is 00:04:18 You add that alpha guy at the very top. And now these other guys can settle into the roles that they're destined to be. It's like what we were talking about yesterday with Jalen Jones where like look Jalen Jones a good corner but he was miscast as the number one corner on a team and he just couldn't do what typical number one corners could do. Similarly you're looking at guys like Mo Ali Cox and Drew Ogletree. These are not refined players that are capable of being the number one on the depth chart. They can't go out there for 500, 600, 700 yards and be legit every down threats as a receiver and run blocker.

Starting point is 00:04:52 But now you have them settle into being that 12 personnel, big tight end that typically comes into block and then maybe occasionally get some catches. This is where these two players really fit. I know there were high hopes from Ola Cox years ago to eventually be the next Jack Doyle, be that starting tight end, but he just didn't live up to that. He is perfectly fine as a role player in the NFL, but he's just not a starting caliber tight end. Now you have him in there to kind of protect Tyler Warren from those inline blocking assignments. So now when the Colts go 12th personnel, you can have Mo on the end of the line of scrimmage and maybe have Tyler Warren more as a sniffer back in the backfield or have him as a legit traditional fullback or split out wide in the slot.

Starting point is 00:05:33 Like when you want to go to 12th personnel you don't have to have Tyler Warren be an inline tight end where he has some struggles like most young players do when they don't have that bulk on them yet. So Moe, like Cox, and then Drew Ogletree to the same degree there are really good protective blocking tight ends that can help Tyler Warren be who Tyler Warren is going to be in the NFL. So this is a great role for both these players. I'm curious to see how the camp battle goes between those two, because I don't know if it's really like a big battle the Colts are really looking

Starting point is 00:06:03 into. I think they're fine just rolling both of these guys out there every now and then, maybe in 13 personnel. We'll see all three of these guys on the field for like the 3% the Colts run it next year. But yeah, I think Moali Cox and Drew Ogletree are going to be on this team next year. I think they're going to be the two blocking tight ends that are rolled alongside Tyler Warren. And they're going to be doing some good things in actual roles that they're supposed to be in. Not starting tight ends, not legit number one tight ends, but guys who can be out there and be good run blockers with the occasional catch in their repertoire as well. So yeah, I

Starting point is 00:06:35 think these three will be your starters this next season, but Tyler Warren is like the legit like snap getter in the group. Tyler Warren Warren's gonna get pretty much all the snaps Hopefully on the field this next season upwards of 70 to 80 percent depending on what the game plan calls for and then we'll see A little bit of Mo a little bit of Drew and then maybe a little bit of whoever the fourth tight end is That they keep going into the year But I don't think it's gonna be a tight end room by committee like it was these past couple seasons under Shane second because he likes to roll with that one dominant tight end and now they finally got that guy. The Colts were talking all off season about getting that legit

Starting point is 00:07:13 thread at tight end. They go out there and get Tyler Warren and it really just changes the entire room. So this was the pick that we were all calling for since last October when the Colts tight end room was was not looking good whatsoever during the season. The calls for it really amplified in the off season. Throughout all draft season, all we could talk about on this channel was Tyler Warren this, Tyler Warren that. Then he fell to the Colts pick in the first round and they have that tight end that they have been looking for under Shane Steichen.

Starting point is 00:07:41 And I don't think they're going to put any training wheels on him in year one. I think he's going to be a focal focal part of the offense. I think it's going to be a heavy usage in the screen game and in like mesh concepts and just short things over the middle. They're going to basically use him as like a Josh Downs in a lot of ways in terms of isolating him on prime matchups. And he's going to get a lot of targets. So I think Tyler Warren is going to be a big part of this Colts offense this next season with Moelle Cox and Drew Ogletree just doing their thing being, you know, solid number two fringe roster players being legit starters that have to take on big roles, the addition of Tyler Warren pushes everybody down to where they're supposed to be on an NFL roster. And it makes the team better. So yes, we have our gripes with Chris Ballard. And I'm not saying he handled everything perfectly this offseason, but I do like this offseason in a little bit of luck as well But I do like that

Starting point is 00:08:47 They were able to get a player like Tyler Warden to come in here and be that guy for their team So good work from the Colts I'm gonna actually say good work from the Colts on addressing tight end need this offseason getting a player like Warden here and I think it's gonna be better for the team going into this next season But coming up guys Those are the guys who I kind of lump in as like the three starters or at least three guys who I think are gonna make The team now we have two players who they're kind of on that roster bubble They've been loved in the past got some serious playing time in the past

Starting point is 00:09:18 But it's time to really put these guys on the spotlight and see like hey Can these guys make the team and make an impact in this upcoming season. But first summer sports are in full swing and whether you're all about baseball under the lights golf on the green or high stakes soccer action FanDuel has the best way to make every game even more exciting. You're already following the action why not make it a little bit more thrilling. With FanDuel you can get in on the games while your friends are getting sunburned at the beach. I've been using Fandual to track my favorite matchups and the app keeps it fresh with new daily promotions and fun ways to bet. It's easy to use,

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Starting point is 00:10:28 Now we're looking at the roleplay slash roster bubble guys. And the two players I really want to throw in this segment are Jelani Woods and Will Mallory. And I'm actually going to open this up to the comment section or if you guys are listening on audio, send me a DM or message on Twitter or whatever it is, whatever your preferred social media is. But let me know who you have in this battle here between Jelani Woods and Will Mallory because I go back and forth every single day. I don't know which guy I'd prefer. On one hand, Jelani Woods,

Starting point is 00:10:57 I think, has shown more promise in the NFL. Back a couple years ago as a rookie, he had some really nice highlight level plays, including the game winning catch against the Kansas City Chiefs I think last preseason his blocking got to a level where I felt better about him as a player than I ever had like his Blocking looked pretty good you lump that in with his elite athleticism and size and I was feeling pretty optimistic about Jelani Woods and then unfortunately he suffered yet another injury and we've now had two seasons in a row where he hasn't touched the field in the regular season so it's hard to really count on that kind of player. On the other hand I feel like a player like Will Mallory has steadily been the same thing in the NFL at this point just one of those guys

Starting point is 00:11:39 who is far too good to be playing against third stringers, but maybe not good enough to be like a starter in the NFL But certainly capable of being a rosterable tight end who can get on the field on Sundays give you a couple nice possession catches over the middle of the field and Just be a productive football player when asked to be on to be out there Like I think that he is a quality guy to have on your roster and in a lot of ways It's kind of like, again, the quarterback discussion we had yesterday, it's kind of like the Sam Womack versus Juju Prince, where you have your your oft injured, highly drafted guy who just

Starting point is 00:12:14 you want to keep believing in, but he just hasn't shown it versus the really steady guy with a limited ceiling. But when he's on the field, he's been pretty productive in his NFL career. And Will Mallory and Sam Womack. Yeah. So like, it's kind of tough to make these decisions. And it's why, I like to just sit here speculating on a podcast rather than being the guy in charge of an entire organization, because it's easier in the hypothetical to talk these out than what it actually is to do it in reality. But I think there's upside to both these players in terms of keeping them versus not keeping them like Jelani Woods.

Starting point is 00:12:48 I think you're swinging for the fences here, and maybe that's better with your fourth tight end. You know, if we're talking about two really reliable, consistent, like like just adequate players in front of him and Ogletree and Moe, and then you have your highly invested guy at the top of the roster, maybe you want to have that that home run swing at number four, because if Jelani would somehow stays healthy and takes that big step this off season, then you can lump them in there with Tyler Warren and have like a two

Starting point is 00:13:15 headed monster position and just feel great. But on the other hand, when you already have a consistent thing going, in case injuries happen, you want to keep that consistent player in will Mallory have a player who can just operate the offense and do effective things on the field so. It's a tough one for me when it comes to these two woods and Mallory have both had their moments in the NFL Mallory has been healthy the last couple years. I really like his catch rate he's been keeping that pretty pretty high. Like whenever the ball is catchable, he typically pulls it in. Pretty good athlete as well. Like not nearly as good an athlete as Jelani Woods, but still a very good athlete in his own right.

Starting point is 00:13:54 Certainly belongs on an NFL football on an NFL field. But again, I just go back and forth with this. I really don't know. I think the big thing for these two players is who's going to show out as a blocker, because even though the Colts have Drew Ogletree and Mo'Ali Cox as like legit, really good blockers in front of them, they're one injury away from the Colts needing this fourth tight end to be on the field, and they have to fill that void behind Tyler Warren, which is that blocking type of player. So maybe if a Jelani Woods comes out here with that fantastic size

Starting point is 00:14:28 I mean, he's like what like six seven like two sixty like he's a big big player if he can come out here and really showcase His ability as a blocker then that could be a way for him to earn that four spot and similarly for Will Mallory Maybe he's not gonna be this dominant in line tight end Similarly for Will Mallory, maybe he's not going to be this dominant inline tight end But if he can really show out as like a move tight end like blocker like doing the Tyler Warren type stuff Doing some fullback type stuff. I think he can certainly find his way onto the team as well This will be one to watch in training camp for sure though When Jake Jake isn't here today, but when Jake was talking about mini, it does seem like both these players were running more with that third team

Starting point is 00:15:06 a little bit with the second team as well, but primarily with the third team. And again, these two guys are certainly at that level where they're just too good to be on that third team. Well, Mallory has feasted the last couple of years in the preseason and in the offseason as that third team player, Jelani Woods certainly has his upside. That's going to be tough for those those players to cover. So I would like to see the Colts maybe work them up a little bit in the lineup

Starting point is 00:15:31 and just see how they operate alongside the Tyler Warren and kind of factor that into the decision on who to keep. The Colts certainly could keep five tight ends this year. I'm not going to rule that out. But I think when you have a player like Warren at the top of the depth chart, where you're gonna give him a bulk of the snaps, unless you had like a super special, like special teams player at the bottom

Starting point is 00:15:52 to justify keeping five, you're probably keeping four, if not three, but I think they keep four because they like both these guys so much. I think they're gonna keep four guys going into this season and it's gonna be one of these two guys as that fourth tight end. Oh man, I really want to make a decision here on this preview, like just in terms of who I support because I've been doing that on these other ones. But man, maybe because on the other one I swung with the safer pick in Sam Womack. I'll pick Jelani Woods for this one.

Starting point is 00:16:22 I think because you have Tyler Warren, you can take a chance with the bottom of the depth chart. And I just can't give up on Jelani Woods yet. I just can't quite give up on him just because the athletic traits are so fantastic. And if he does put it together, you can have a really good one to punch at that tight end room. But again, you guys let me know what your thoughts are on there because I struggle more with this one than I have with any other position group on the Colts team. I can see the argument for both players. I think there is value in having a safe player and I also think there's value in swinging for the fences with the bottom of the roster guy when your starters are established so let me know in the comment section we didn't even talk about special teams with these guys like maybe special teams is the big thing too like I could totally see that in that coming down to

Starting point is 00:17:12 it so yeah you guys let me know in the comments there what you think on that because I think that's the biggest like conversational piece when it comes to the tight end room we know who the top guy is gonna be we know what Ogletree and Mo bring, but what can Jelani Woods and Will Mallory do to secure their spot on the roster? I think that's going to be the big conversation this offseason.

Starting point is 00:17:34 But coming up, guys, we're going to transition to the final piece of the puzzle, and that is the true bubble players, the players who have that outside shot of making the team, but, you know, they're only a couple injuries away, a couple catches away from from earning a spot in camp and hey a couple of these guys have been with the team for a hot minute so we're gonna talk about them here in just a second.

Starting point is 00:17:57 Alright locked on Colts everydayers we are back talking about the true bubble players on this Colts roster at tight end. The guys who have a very outside shot of making the team most likely will be practice squad players this upcoming season. But again, we've seen injuries in the tight end room before. We've seen a player like Jelani Woods miss entire seasons. So these guys could be closer than we think to being legit rosterable players. The three tight ends that we are talking about, of course, are Sean McKeon,

Starting point is 00:18:32 Albert O. I still have to learn that if he ends up making the team, I will certainly learn that last name and Maximilian Mange. All of our German listeners, please let me know how to properly pronounce that. I've been working on Bernhard Reimann for years. Please let me know how to pronounce Maximilian Mange. That's how he's been going with the Colts media, but Maximilian Mange is the third one there. Now I will start this off with Mange because he is the undrafted rookie. He's the shiny new toy in the room. He will likely be the Colts overseas development player this upcoming season, so he will be on the practice squad. He'll count as that additional practice squad player. I have no doubts in my mind that he will be their practice squad guy this year.

Starting point is 00:19:07 So his spot is pretty safe. It's actually one of the safest spots on the roster, in my opinion, because they get that exemption for him and the Colts can continue to develop him for a couple of seasons like they were doing with Marcel Dabo the last few years. Meng will be a part of this team. The real question is, do they keep a second tight end on the practice squad or can either one of these other veterans push players like Will Mallory or Jelani Woods in training camp and earn that fourth tight end spot? These are two players who

Starting point is 00:19:35 have been there, done that. You know, Alberto and Sean McKeon have what a combined 10 years of NFL experience between them, which is, I think, besides Marley Cox, the most in the room. I think those two are the second and third most like 10 year tight ends in the NFL respectively. So these guys certainly could use that experience to benefit them a little bit, but they have to have an outstanding training camp to really push the guys ahead of them because the Colts do like their young players so much. Mekion, I think, has bounced around between a couple teams. I want to

Starting point is 00:20:05 say he was with the Atlanta Falcons for a little bit. Alberto, of course, a very great athlete in college out of Missouri. Played with the Broncos for a little bit, spent some time with the Eagles. He's been on the, I think he's been with the Colts organization for like two years now. Was on the practice squad, got a futures contract. And yeah, the Colts clearly have some interest in him. I just think it's more of like a practice squad guy or just the guy that they're taking a shot in the dark at to see if he can make this team and maybe, you know, be like a reliable injury insurance guy. Because again, we've seen injuries in this tight end room before.

Starting point is 00:20:39 So like I said, with the quarterback room, it never hurts to have veterans at the bottom of their depth chart that you have that connection with because when those injuries happen in the regular season, you would like to call a player like an Alberto or Sean McKeon rather than having to rely on Maximilian Mange to come up here and play like legit NFL football in his first year in the league. You know, you want to be able to go to the well of veteran players who know your system and know your playbook. So it's always great to have those guys on speed dial. I think we'll see them out there with the third and fourth team this offseason. We'll see them, especially with Riley Leonard and Jason Bean quite a bit in the preseason game. So yeah, I'm curious to see if they both look like the Laquan Treadwells and the Will Mallory's of the world where it's like

Starting point is 00:21:27 Again, like I said with Mallory like these guys are just too good to be where there's where they are Like maybe they're not legit rosterable players, but they're probably too good to be out there with preseason Caliber players So I think a player like an Alberto could have a really strong preseason and maybe make a case to make some other team outside of camp or again even make the Colts if they suffer some injuries in camp. I think these are really capable players who at the very worst can be practice squad guys they could call up in a pinch throughout the regular season. So I don't see any of these bubble guys making the team outside of injuries but I certainly

Starting point is 00:22:03 think you know again Maximilian Meng will be on the practice squad this upcoming season. And then likely Alberto, but maybe Ashantakian will be the other guy on the practice squad that is like the legit call up player. If an injury happens, I think that makes the most sense, because I don't think if whoever loses out between Woods and Mallory, I don't think they would make it to the practice squad. It might be like a late offseason trade that we see the Colts do to facilitate the loser of that battle. And then McKeon or Alberto would be like the legit practice squad back up there. I think that's the way the Colts are playing this, but we will actually,

Starting point is 00:22:36 we will have to see throughout all of training camp. Um, but like I said, with, with the cornerback room yesterday, like when we were looking at corner last year to corner this year it's night and day I feel so much better about the room when we're looking at tight end this year I feel so much better about the room it's so it's so like gratifying to see just the addition of one player can make you feel so much better about the entire room like again I don't have expectations for Tyler Warren to come out here and be some superstar player that's gonna like rock the NFL world

Starting point is 00:23:07 But just being a starting caliber tight end Pushes down everybody to where they're supposed to be in the NFL and then you can take your shots on Angelani Woods You can maybe see if Will Mallory can take that next step Maybe a Drew Ogletree can develop some receiving chops like these guys can actually you can develop some receiving chops. Like these guys can actually develop or have those like shots to improve, but without being relied on to be like, oh, if they don't improve, it's the end of the world for tight end. Like they are pushed down to where they're supposed to be.

Starting point is 00:23:35 Tyler Warren can can take the bulk of the snaps and the bulk of the play and we can go from there. I think this is a good fit for the Colts. I like this tight end room. This is a competing like if you want to be a competing team in the NFL,ts. I like this tight end room. This is a competing, like, if you want to be a competing team in the NFL, this is the level of tight end room you need to have. And I like it. I just overall like the group.

Starting point is 00:23:53 And I couldn't say that last off season or probably any off season since the Jack Dole retirement. So again, we can hit Chris Ballard all we want like last year for how they didn't address the tight end room. We can hit him again for how he didn't address some other things this offseason, but he did go out of his way to make sure the tight end room and the cornerback rooms are much better than the weaknesses they were last year. Maybe a little bit too late, but at the end of the day

Starting point is 00:24:22 they do have their legit tight end one at the top of the roster and they have quite a few quality guys behind him. I can't really complain about that. That's a legit starting tight end room there, a legit good tight end room and I think the Colts are going to be much better for it. So that's all we have for today guys. Thank you all for making Locked On Culture your first listen today. Now for your second listen check out Locked On NFL Scouting. As training camps get closer and moves are being made. Host Kyle Krabs and Joe Marina

Starting point is 00:24:48 will make you the most informed NFL fan this off season. Find Lockdown NFL Scouting on YouTube or Realistier Podcast. And you guys want to come on Lockdown Colts insider chat with us directly and get that insider scoop. Follow the link in our show notes. And if you don't already make sure you're following at Lockdown Colts at Jake Arthur NFL and at Zach Hicks too, all on socials. Also subscribe to us on YouTube, our realest podcast. We love you guys ratings reviews and we'll catch you guys back here tomorrow afternoon.

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Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts TE PREVIEW: Tyler Warren Will UNLOCK Shane Steichen's Bag

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