Penn State is historically known for churning out linebackers to the NFL. Tyler Warren did his best last year to help carve out a niche for his position on offense.
Tight End U, anyone?
When Warren enrolled at Penn State during the 2020 pandemic season, he found himself in a room that included Pat Freiermuth and two other tight ends who would end up in the NFL, Brenton Strange and Theo Johnson.
Warren watched Freiermuth set the school record for touchdown catches by a tight end. When Warren got a chance to excel in his final season of eligibility, he decided to shatter that mark.
And become the top tight end in his draft class in the process. Warren is a consensus top-10 pick among draft experts and is expected to hear his name called early next Thursday in the first round.
He’s not surprised he developed so quickly at a school known for its hard-hitting linebackers and prolific running backs.
“Getting good players there is something we’ve always done at tight end,” Warren said at the NFL Combine. “They’re recruiting guys and then developing them when they are there. We’ve had a good run so far, and there are some young guys in that room now that are going to be really good.
“I don’t think (the reputation) is going to be going anywhere with the tight-end production at Penn State.”
Warren left some statuesque-sized shoes to fill by his successors. The 6-foot-6, 256-pounder set a school record, including wide receivers, when he caught 104 passes in 2024. That total put him No. 2 among FBS pass catchers, and he set the Penn State career record for tight ends with 153 catches, 1,839 receiving yards and 19 receiving touchdowns (he had another six rushing).
Freiermuth, who went to the Steelers in the second round of the 2021 draft, held the previous mark with 16 career touchdown catches. He and Warren shared the same locker room for a season.
Warren counts Freiermuth, Strange and Johnson among his friends in a tight-knit tight end fraternity.
“They’re all kind of there for me, and if I have questions, I can ask them,” he said. “They’re not blowing me up. They know it’s a busy time. But they’ve been big help.”
His final season was jarring only because he shared the tight end role with Johnson in 2023, when Warren caught 34 passes for 422 yards and seven touchdowns.
Now, Warren not only is expected to be the first tight end taken in the draft, he’s drawing comparisons to Rob Gronkowski, George Kittle and Brock Bowers, who excelled as a rookie in 2024 with the Las Vegas Raiders.
ESPN ranks Warren as its fourth overall prospect, and NFL.com has him rated sixth. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah split the difference and has Warren slotted fifth on his overall board.
“Because of his mixture of just size and physicality,” Jeremiah said. “He just walls guys off. 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.
“He can be used in wildcat stuff and as a runner and do some different things because he’s a really hard guy to get on the ground.”
Part of Warren’s skill set includes running the ball. He had 26 carries for 218 yards (an 8.4 average) and scored four touchdowns last season. His uniform No. 44 is an homage to John Riggins, the bruising Hall of Fame running back.
“When I was younger, my dad put on his film and said, ‘This is how I want you to run the ball,’ ” Warren said.
That style has served Warren well, even if there was a time at Penn State when he wondered when his turn to show off his playing skills would come.
“When I got to Penn State, I wasn’t fully developed yet,” he 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. It was trusting the process. Everybody’s looks different. Mine took a few years until I got into the flow of college football.”
And eventually become the top prospect at his position.
