Sometimes in the NFL Draft, a team’s need at a certain position is almost too great to pass up.
Teams can get themselves into tough situations that way, electing to take a player at a position of immediate need rather than taking a superior player who may be considered more of a luxury.
Recently, Ian Valentino of The 33rd Team forecasted a handful of teams who may find themselves reaching in the draft to fill needs rather than taking the true value. The Indianapolis Colts have had tight ends slotted to them in mock drafts for months now because the position is the most barren group on their roster, but Valentino urges them not to get too desperate.
It’s easy to fixate on the Indianapolis Colts producing only 39 receptions from the tight end position last year, and there’s no question the team would massively improve the talent available by taking (Tyler) Warren or Colston Loveland.
However, it must be asked whether this offense demands a more threatening tight end or if the plan for the position is greater than the team’s defensive needs. It’s possible those answers are no.
Indianapolis must also consider the value of finding a future starter and immediate role player at defensive tackle or linebacker. With DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart now 31, that position requires reinforcements. This also happens to be a loaded defensive tackle class, so it’d be justifiable to take an impact player at No. 14.
In theory, yes, you shouldn’t draft a player just because they’re the best available at a position of need. However, the Colts are ardent believers that drafting for need is only appropriate if the value is there, which should be the case this year.
Let’s say Tyler Warren is available at 14; the value should meet the need, making it an appropriate move for the Colts to draft him. Warren is widely considered one of the very best players in the draft and would go even higher if not for some needs at quarterback near the top of the draft. He’s often mocked inside the top 10 picks before even getting to the Colts. Colston Loveland’s value is appropriate at the 14th pick as well.
Statistically, Indy’s tight ends were the second-least-productive unit in the NFL in 2024. There were actually 25 individual tight ends across the league who had more receiving yards by themselves than the 467 yards that the entirety of the Colts’ tight ends produced. And now, that group is without its top two players.
Kylen Granson was the Colts’ leading receiving tight end but departed in free agency for the Philadelphia Eagles. Likewise, Mo Alie-Cox has been the most consistent presence in the Colts’ tight end room for the last few years but remains a free agent.
The Colts not only don’t have qualified starters at tight end — Drew Ogletree and Will Mallory are the top returning players — but they’re in a position to have to support their quarterback as much as possible in 2025, whether that’s Anthony Richardson or Daniel Jones.
Adding a player like Warren or Loveland would complete the Colts’ passing game and help provide either Richardson or Jones with a security blanket. Both players have sure hands, can make plays after the catch, and their abilities as blockers will keep them on the field and minimize the need for head coach Shane Steichen to make frequent substitutions.
Adding defensive players, as Valentino suggested, wouldn’t be a wrong move either, but the depth there is better throughout the draft than it is at tight end. If the Colts miss out on Warren, Loveland, or Mason Taylor, there’s a good chance they’re either going to have to draft two tight ends or draft one and then go sign a veteran after the draft.
Colts general manager Chris Ballard recently acknowledged that they “can’t dictate the draft,” but everyone inside and outside the building knows the Colts need serious help at tight end, and taking one early is the best way to do it.
