At the NFL Scouting Combine a year ago, many analysts believed the Jets would draft their tight end of the future in Brock Bowers.
After passing on Bowers, the Jets could potentially select another generational tight end in April’s draft in Penn State’s Tyler Warren seventh overall.
During his media availability on Thursday, Warren said one of his biggest strengths is his versatility.
“I think I can do a lot of different things,” Warren said. “So whatever the offense needs from week to week and what they want my role to be is what I’ll do and that might change from game to game.
“I think I’m a guy that can do a lot of different things.”
The Jets are under a different regime this offseason after they hired Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey as head coach and general manager. Gang Green has several holes to address, including at the tight end position.
Tyler Conklin, who averaged 57 receptions, 541 yards, and two touchdowns during his three seasons with the Jets, will be a free agent at the start of the new league year on March 12. Jeremy Ruckert and Zack Kuntz are the only two tight ends under contract for the 2025 season.
Many fans clamored for the Jets to select Bowers last year, but they decided to draft Olu Fashanu instead to help solidify the left tackle position for the future. Warren’s game differs from Bowers’, but he can still be productive immediately.
At 6-6, 260 pounds, Warren is a big, athletic player who is an in-line tight end that loves to block. After replacing Theo Johnson, who was drafted by the Giants last year, Warren finished with 104 catches for 1,233 yards and eight touchdowns for Penn State. He also rushed for 218 yards and four touchdowns.
“Tyler Warren is my fifth overall player because his mixture of just size, physicality. He just walls guys off,” NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said on a conference call earlier this month. “He looks like a billboard rolling down the seam. He’s enormous.
“He has a huge catch radius. He is so physical and tough with the ball in his hands after the catch. They use him on the wild cat stuff and use him as a runner and do those different things because he’s a really hard guy to get on the ground.
“I look at tight ends, and you kind of look at the Gronk tree and the Kelce tree. If you are stylistically the differences between those two guys, it’s well-represented in this draft who you have Tyler Warren who represents more of the Gronk type that’s going to be better on the move, crossers, seams, get the ball in his hands and make people tackle him.”
The 2025 draft could be the best collection of talent that has entered the league in the last decade. As many as 10 tight ends could be selected in the first three rounds
However, Warren doesn’t want to compare himself to anyone else in a draft class full of outstanding tight ends.
“I’m not really focused on trying to be better than other people,” Warren said. “Just trying to be the best tight end I can be and I think that’s what’s helped me do whatever is needed within the offense.
“That’s what I focus on. I try to get good at a lot of different things in a lot of different roles.”
Outside of his size, Warren’s strengths include his football IQ and his ability to play multiple positions within the offense, which can cause matchup problems for opposing defenses. His former high school quarterback background helps him attack zone and man coverages. Warren also has a basketball background, which helps when going for contested catches.
The Mechanicsville, Virginia native can be an H-back in the backfield. Because he hasn’t played the tight end position for long, Warren has a lot of room to grow. He is a good blocker on rushing downs but can improve his technique, especially during passing downs.
It is unknown who will be the Jets’ quarterback in 2025 after the team decided to move on from Aaron Rodgers. But Warren could be an excellent security blanket for whoever is under center.
“When I got to Penn State, I wasn’t a fully developed tight end yet,” Warren said. “I had to wait my turn and learn from the guys in front of me, understanding I was not at the point I needed to be in order to play and contribute and trusting the process. Everybody looks different. Mine took a few years until I got into the flow of college football.
“But Theo [Johnson] came in when he was playing his freshman year, we had a great relationship. All around college you’re going to see guys play right away and see guys take a few years before they really get rolling.”
