-
Courtney Cronin
multiple authors
indianapolis colts quarterback Daniel Jones Dropped back and made a deep pass to his body atlanta falcons area. rookie tight end tyler warren The goal was there, but he had four defenders, including former second-team All-Pro AJ Terrell.
Warren tracked the ball over his right shoulder and gained a 23-yard gain in overtime. After five plays, jonathan taylor Scored the game-winning touchdown with Warren as the lead blocker.
Looking from his seats in the end zone, Colts general manager Chris Ballard turned to director of administration Cal Handelman and said: “That’s Dave Kasper,” referring to the Super Bowl champion and four-time first team All-Pro with the Oakland Raiders in the 1970s and ’80s.
“He looked like Dave Casper catching the ball,” Ballard said. “And it was beautiful.”
Casper is one of 10 tight ends enshrined in Canton. Ten games into his career, Warren was drawing Hall of Fame comparisons and confirming the Colts’ decision to draft him with the No. 14 pick.
Warren was drafted shortly thereafter Chicago Bears raised colston loveland At No. 9, it marked only the second time multiple tight ends were selected so high in the same draft. And both delivered. Loveland led the NFC North champs with 713 receiving yards, while Warren was second on the Colts with 817. Will their success early this year signal a more difficult ending?
of oregon kenyon sadik Is set to go in Round 1 this April, and ESPN NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller is telling him to get down with it Baltimore Ravens 14th in his latest mock draft. Although he is the only tough player expected to go in the first round this year, the class is deep at the position. And Sadik will be the 12th tight end taken in the first round in a 10-year span, compared to only six times in the last 10 years.
“This league is a copycat league,” ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said. “[Teams] See something that’s working and they say, ‘We can do exactly that.’ We need a certain type of athlete to be able to do that.”
with 25 seconds The rest and the bears are following cincinnati bengals In their Week 9 game 42–41, Caleb Williams Fired a dart into triple coverage that Loveland hauled in before breaking two tackles and running for a 58-yard touchdown.
It marked Loveland’s most productive day of the regular season (six catches, 118 yards, 2 TDs) and led to a chemistry that ultimately made him Williams’ top receiving threat. In their last four games, including the playoff matchup against green Bay Packers And Los Angeles RamsLoveland was targeted at least 10 times in each outing.
“I think the impact of [tight ends] It’s important to have at quarterback,” Bears general manager Ryan Poles said. “I think it’s unique to have two guys [Loveland and Warren] So, it starts out hot that way. His intelligence played a role in this.
“Really fortunate to have Colston. I think he elevates our whole team.”
Bears coach Ben Johnson is no stranger to elite rookie tight ends. Detroit Lions’ Sam Laporta Set the NFL record for receptions by a rookie tight end at 86 in 2023, when Johnson was their offensive coordinator.
LaPorta was a second-round pick, and some of the NFL’s most productive tight ends were drafted on Days 2 or 3, highlighted by the Chiefs’ future Hall of Famer. travis kelsWho was selected in the third round (63rd) in 2013. San Francisco waited until the fifth round (146th) to draft in 2017 george kittelJoe has finished first or second on the Niners in receiving in six of his nine seasons.
Colston Loveland. Call home. #Bengal Defense, oh. pic.twitter.com/x9xQ9w76oo
– Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) 2 November 2025
The impact these players made on their playcallers was able to deploy them in all formations, paving the way for the next crop of tight ends to go first in the draft. Since 2019, five tight ends have been taken in the top 14: TJ Hockenson (No. 8 by the Lions in 2019), Kyle Pitts Sr.. (Falcons, No. 4 in 2021), brock bowers (Raiders, No. 13 in 2024) and Loveland (10th in 2025) and Warren (14th in 2025).
“The days of worrying about whether they’re in-line, whether they’re an H-back are over,” Kiper said. “We’re going to take that guy, we’re going to label him a weapon and we’re going to use a high draft pick on him because he’s going to be incredibly valuable to our offense and be able to become one of our key performers on that side of the ball.
“This is what these people have become.”
one of the following The first item on Ian Cunningham’s offseason to-do list after being hired as Falcons general manager on January 29 was to figure out how the team would approach its negotiations with Pitts.
Pitts was the highest-drafted tight end in modern NFL history and burst onto the scene as a rookie with 68 receptions for 1,026 yards and one touchdown. After three down seasons, Pitts bounced back last year with 88 receptions and five TDs – both career highs – for 928 yards.
With their new coaching staff and front office led by Kevin Stefanski, Atlanta placed the franchise tag on Pitts on February 24 to give the team more time to evaluate its long-term options before the July 15 deadline.
Stefanski was the head coach in Cleveland when the Browns traded a first-rounder in 2017 David Njoku A four-year, $56.75 million extension through 2022.
Njoku is the only first-round tight end since 2011 to sign a multi-year extension with the team that drafted him. Njoku had a career-best season in 2023, with 81 catches (on 123 targets) for 882 yards and six touchdowns.
“Because it’s a unique situation, usually they’re really very smart people,” Cunningham said. “I think that situation will continue to grow.”
While NFL teams used nickel defenses — five defensive backs on the field — about 60% of the time in 2025, offensive playcallers have turned to the tight end position to create mismatches.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said, “I think you’re seeing so much nickel defense now that teams are playing nickel with bigger-bodied guys.” “So what the tight ends do, they have the bodies to either match up in blocking schemes or to get open with body control against those bigger safeties playing near the box.”
The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Saadiq isn’t that big, and his stats (51 receptions, 560 yards, eight TDs last season) aren’t surprising, but he’s projected to hear his name called early in the first round on April 23.
“he was like [14-year NFL veteran tight end] Vernon Davis,” said an NFC front office executive. “Super athletic with excellent speed and big-play ability.”
Kenyon Saadiq had one of the best days ever by TE at the Combine:
40-yard dash: 4.39 (best ever by a TE)
Vertical Leap: 43.5” (2nd best ever by a TE)
Broad Jump: 11’1” (3rd best ever by a TE)@accenture | @OregonFootball pic.twitter.com/fxvABmsGrd– NFL (@NFL) 28 February 2026
Saadiq ran 58.5% of his routes out of the slot last year and led all FBS tight ends with five touchdown receptions while lining up in the slot. His athletic qualities and testing numbers are also receiving praise from NFL evaluators. He recorded a 4.39-second 40-yard dash (98th percentile all time for a tight end), a 43.5-inch vertical jump (99th percentile) and an 11-foot-1 broad jump (98th percentile).
“Versatility is huge, being able to make explosive pass plays as well as being able to run the ball,” Sadiq said. “It creates a lot of mismatches on the defensive side, whether they’re nickel or base or whatever.
“So, I think if you have a great tight end or some great tight ends, it really helps your offense as a whole.”
If Miller is right and Saadiq ends up in Baltimore mark andrewsThe Ravens may be on the verge of something special.
