Tyler Warren was selected with the 14th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, just one selection before the Atlanta Falcons selected Jalon Walker. While Walker enjoyed a big game in Atlanta's Week 10 loss to Warren's Colts in Berlin, Warren is making his Offensive Rookie of the Year case impossible to ignore.
Amid the Dirty Birds' dismal defensive collapse, the reigning Mackey Award winner caught a game-high eight passes for 99 yards in the Colts' 31-25 overtime victory. And his historic rookie campaign is forcing Falcons fans to stare down the barrel of an uncomfortable truth—they drafted the wrong tight end prospect in the first round.
When Atlanta selected Kyle Pitts fourth overall back in 2021, he was touted as a "generational" prospect and one of the best tight end prospects in NFL history. But since taking the league by storm as a rookie, he's cooled off and his future with the franchise is coming into serious question.
Tyler Warren could have been the missing piece for the Falcons' offense
Through 10 games of his rookie season, the Penn State standout has taken the league by storm. The 23-year-old currently ranks 15th in the NFL with 617 receiving yards—and is currently leading all tight ends in receiving despite scoring just three receiving touchdowns.
Moreover, Warren is a fantastic run blocker, and Shane Steichen has utilized his skillset. He'll often line up in the backfield, and even took a snap as a wildcat quarterback in Week 10 against the Falcons. That kind of versatility at that size is unprecedented.
Unfortunately, if he were in Atlanta, Zac Robinson wouldn't know what to do with this rookie sensation. He's come eerily close to stunting Michael Penix Jr.'s development, and it doesn't help that the Falcons' crop of pass-catchers behind Drake London are incredibly concerning.
Pitts has enjoyed a bounce-back season in 2025 after a few seasons derailed by both injury and quarterback inconsistency. His rapport with Penix is solid, but there are still concerns. He recorded a huge drop on the opening drive which stalled Atlanta's momentum, and was mostly quiet otherwise.
Meanwhile, the two other elite tight end prospects in recent memory, Warren and Brock Bowers, are among the best tight ends in football, which has made the 25-year-old's development even sadder. And the misuse of Pitts is the latest evidence that Robinson needs to be fired ASAP.
While it's unlikely they would have considered Warren, a Penix-to-Warren connection would have been lethal. And it could have presented Atlanta with the perfect opportunity to trade the fellow Mackey Award winner before he hits free agency this offseason.
Instead, the Falcons landed a pass-rusher who has helped define their newfound defensive identity and is one of the favorites to be named Defensive Rookie of the Year. It hasn't been perfect, but Walker has been great as of late, so even a taste of what could've been won't worry Terry Fontenot.