Mackey and Hornung All in One
Quick correction since this is related to Penn State. They are 11-2 going into the playoff, not 10-3. My bad math skills strike again. I fixed it in the previous article as well. This is honestly the perfect segue to talk about Tyler Warren, who we briefly touched on last time. But I wanted to give him a whole article to really do justice to what he has done this year because it is incredible. We’ll be finding out the end of season college football awards soon. The Mackey award is the best tight end, and the Hornung awards goes to the most versatile player. He deserves both and hopefully at the end of this you’ll see why.
Where’s Warren?
The first job of any defense this year has been to identify where on the field Tyler Warren is. He lines up at his natural position of tight end and is dominant in that role. But he also lines up in the following spots:
Outside like a wide receiver
Inside as a slot receiver
Behind the offensive line as an H-back/extra blocker
In the backfield as a fullback/running back
In the wildcat as a quarterback
On the offensive line as a tackle/extra lineman
Against USC, Warren snapped the ball and went on to subsequently catch the touchdown on the exact same play. You can check that out here. He also broke the following records:
Most receiving yards by a tight end in BIG10
Most single season receptions by a tight end in BIG10 history
Most TD catches by a tight end in school history
Most total TDs by a tight end in school history
Most receiving yards in a career by a tight end in school history
Most catches by a tight end in a season in BIG10 history
Warren has caught 16 touchdowns, ran for six, and thrown for one.
Going Pro
There is no question he will be the best tight end available in the draft. He is a first round talent, but the question is do teams that have need at the position draft one in the first round this year? It happens a decent amount. The last two years the Raiders took the two best tight ends in the class in the second round with Brock Bowers last year, and Michael Mayer the year before. The other question is who could he be a target for. Immediately I think of the Chiefs as his best fit with the Rams being a close second. KC is the most creative offense in the league by far and Warren would thrive in it. Travis Kelce is getting older and with all due respect to Noah Gray, he is not on the same level as either of these guys. He’s very good and a fundamentally sound football player, no question about it. But Warren is a different animal.
Then with the Rams, they could really use a guy like him. Sean McVay has never had a athletically gifted tight end like this. Imagine him in the same lineup as Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. It would be a matchup nightmare. Warren is built like former Colts tight end Dallas Clark. Same build, same number, everything. As long as he has a good quarterback he will have a successful rookie season and beyond.
One last underrated ability he has is to be used as decoy. So many times we’ve seen Penn State receivers get favorable matchups and get open/separation because to the attention Warren draws. I meant to mention this in the playoff preview, but a guy like Omari Evans on Penn State benefits so much and can get open for timely touchdowns. I bet that happens at least once against SMU. Now imagine the magnitude and effect it would have on the Rams offense. Good luck defending it if that happens.
Well, that’s it. Article 199 is in the books. Next up is the big 200 and I have the perfect article to celebrate. That’s coming up next.