Tyler Warren vs Lamar Jackson

“Tyler Warren ’s rookie season and Alec Pierce ’s contract are reasons to believe that the Colts’ offense can continue to get better around Taylor, making his job much easier.”

“This is simply a, “the drop-off from Tyler Warren to Tucker Kraft isn’t going to be as big as you think (and I have Kraft higher, for what it’s worth), and that makes Warren a bad value” sentiment.”

“The Colts passing game operated by committee throughout the year, with each of Alec Pierce, Tyler Warren, Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs filling a specific role within the offense.”

“He continued building around a young receiver corps, adding Emeka Egbuka and later Jameson Williams , and locked down his tight end room early with Tyler Warren , calling him a long-term dynasty asset worth building around even with quarterback uncertainty in Indianapolis.”

“Tyler Warren picked up a small bump but stayed in place at fourth, standing fairly alone in that spot: not close enough to catch third, but comfortably ahead of Tucker Kraft , who settled in as the TE5.”

“Tyler Warren should continue to ascend.”

“While Daniel Jones appears healthy heading into 2026, I expect to see more of Warren taking snaps at quarterback, as he did at Penn State. Warren offers unique upside that has received little discussion this offseason.”

“The Colts offense took a big step forward in 2025, and they will need to rely even more on Tyler Warren to keep that momentum going. Warren had an outstanding rookie year after leading the Colts in targets last season. The departure of Michael Pittman (PIT) will lead to even more looks for Warren's second season.”

“Warren had a strong rookie season, catching 76 of 112 targets for 817 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also added a rushing touchdown. Warren played 84% of the snaps as a rookie, running a route on 83.6% of the team's dropbacks.”

“Tyler Warren has a clear chance to finish as the overall TE1 in 2026. He's the returning member of Indy's receiving corps most likely to handle those middle-of-the-field opportunities that previously belonged to Michael Pittman. Warren saw the second-most targets inside the 10-yard line among all tight ends last season (11), yet he finished with only four spikes.”

“Among the second-tier tight ends, Tyler Warren generated some of the strongest endorsements. He was named a must-draft target thanks to expectations for increased volume and a larger offensive role. The belief is that Warren still has room to grow and could push toward the elite tier if his opportunity expands.”

“I'm not confident enough that Loveland will emerge as the former to draft him multiple rounds ahead of other upside young tight ends like the aforementioned Warren, Harold Fannin Jr. or Tucker Kraft.”

“Injuries and a steep decline in rushing production cratered Lamar Jackson ‘s fantasy value in 2025. After finishing QB1 in fantasy scoring in 2024, Jackson plummeted to a QB20 fantasy finish last season and was QB16 in fantasy points per game at the position. Jackson lost three games to an early-season hamstring injury and one game to a late-season back injury.”

“Lamar Jackson cratered many fantasy rosters in 2025. Before an early October hamstring injury, he was on pace for 3,700 passing yards, 437 rushing yards, and 47 total TDs.”

“The most obvious thing to consider is your positional strengths and weaknesses — trading for Lamar Jackson when you already have Josh Allen probably isn’t a good idea.”

“If you want an elite QB, pocket your picks for a round and a half and take Lamar Jackson, instead.”

“There isn’t a single drafted player on the Ravens that goes higher than I would take them, with Lamar Jackson standing out as the single best 1QB value I have ever seen if you want to get a top-two quarterback, going at pick 46, 19 picks past QB1, Josh Allen.”

“With plenty of time to recover from last season, Jackson is a ticking time bomb for fantasy production.”

“Things did not go well for Lamar Jackson in 2025, but he still displayed his ceiling early on before injuries started to stack up.”

“For what it’s worth, Lamar did speak highly of Doyle’s offense this spring, saying: “ It’s a different system than what I’m accustomed to being in, and I feel like there’s going to be a lot of explosiveness this year.”

“The case for Lamar staying near the top of the market: he’s not even 30 years old, he was still playing at an elite level in weeks one and two last season before his injury in week three derailed the rest of his year, and he has never failed to have an MVP-caliber first season under a new play caller, which is exactly the situation he’s in again this year.”

“Jackson's 2025 performance was marred by injury and a subpar level of play (by his standards). Therefore, while he has tremendous leverage by virtue of the restructure and the $84.34MM cap number it created for 2027, he may want to come to the negotiating table on the heels of a better season.”

“Todd Monken, reflecting on where things went wrong in Baltimore last season, feels that he didn't get the most out of Lamar Jackson. "I didn't coach well enough," Monken said. "I didn't get Lamar to play at his best when the best was needed."”

“Jackson mentioned that Doyle is running a completely different system from what Todd Monken deployed last season, while there are some concepts from what Greg Roman ran in 2022. Jackson expects more "explosiveness" this season, and Doyle is proving to be a very creative playcaller. "I feel like there's going to be a lot of explosiveness this year," Jackson said. "The way Declan calls plays and his creativity with his mind — how detailed he is — it's mind-blowing. I'm excited."”