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Should you draft Tyler Warren or Colston Loveland in 2025 dynasty fantasy football rookie drafts? John Johnson breaks down player analysis and landing spots for Warren and Loveland.
According to many analysts, the consensus No. 1 tight end prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft class was former Penn State TE Tyler Warren, whom the Indianapolis Colts drafted. He was often mocked as being a top-6 selected player. That didn't come to pass.
Instead, former Michigan tight end Colston Loveland, who landed with the Chicago Bears with the 10th overall pick, was selected as the first player at his position off the board. Warren was taken a few picks later as the No. 14 overall selection.
It wasn't Loveland's fault his QB was so bad, and rushing value in the NFL for TEs is probably less important than the draft community thought it was. Still, they were drafted so close together that their capital were similar. That won't be a big part of the argument in here. So let's dive into this question -- should you draft Warren or Loveland in fantasy football rookie drafts for the 2025 NFL season?
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Should You Draft Tyler Warren In Rookie Drafts?
That's a great question. I would lean toward it not being a great idea, at least within the time windows that dynasty fantasy football is played. While many try to analyze how players should be valued in the far future, the reality is that it's only a two—or three-year window in which most managers think in real time.
The Colts' quarterback situation is abysmal right now. Due to playing in a pretty easy division historically, the team consistently finishes with a middling record, even when it's terrible. Who knows how long it will take before Indy lands a franchise quarterback.
Tyler Warren is poised for a MASSIVE rookie season if the Colts can just find a way to trade for a professional quarterback
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) April 25, 2025
As much as Mr. Hartitz is a meme account, he brings up excellent points. Quarterbacks Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson aren't great passers, and the team might be stuck with them for at least a few more seasons. In that case, it might not be pretty for Warren.
Many have written off the team's group of wide receivers as irrelevant, expecting Warren to come in on Day 1 and take over the pass-catching group as the No. 1 guy. But the other guys are just good enough to stick around. WRs Michael Pittman Jr., Josh Downs, and Alec Pierce have all shown flashes.
Josh Downs pic.twitter.com/iUA5UF1rSq
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) March 12, 2025
Downs especially should earn his targets. Pierce was great as a deep option. Pittman was solid before his back injury in 2024. Warren likely isn't getting a big target share immediately. Despite his versatility, it makes little sense to run tight ends on run plays out of the backfield.
Is “TE going to get backfield snaps” the new “RB going to get slot work”?
We heard it last year with Bowers, and now w/ Tyler Warren.
The Colts have two (2) mobile and strong rushing QBs that excel at doing the work that many want Warren to do.
— Dataroma (@ffdataroma) May 13, 2025
The problem is that Jones and Richardson, especially the latter, are great rushing quarterbacks. Taking the ball out of Richardson's hands makes little sense, especially to give it to a much slower athlete. That would require taking it out of RB Jonathan Taylor's hands as well. Both are better runners than Warren, and it's not close.
So, Warren's upside doesn't seem to be there, as he is already not a great route-runner or separator. In college, he mostly won with his raw athleticism, and while he is a size mismatch at the next level, he might struggle to shake the coverages of linebackers, which will force his quarterbacks to throw into tight windows.
Unless Indy pulls out a miracle and acquires a much better passer at quarterback sometime in the next three seasons, I don't know how they solve this problem. Warren seems set up to be a disappointment next year.
Should You Draft Colston Loveland In Rookie Drafts?
The outlook for Loveland is a bit more rosy. Yes, I know he went to the Bears, who now have wide receivers DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, and Luther Burden III as massive target competition for the freshman tight end. But keep in mind that the Bears drafted Loveland with the 10th overall pick.
It is massive to have a vote of confidence like that from a coach like Ben Johnson, the new head coach of the Bears. Johnson turned tight end Sam LaPorta into a league-winner in 2023, and while he was utilized less the following season, the precedent is there.
A 6'4" WR weighing 210-220 pounds would be praised for this route. Colston Loveland is running it at 6'6" and 245 pounds. Ridiculous pic.twitter.com/un8ozAKPlj
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 25, 2025
Loveland is already the best and most polished route runner on his team. Yes, he's better than Odunze, who was touted as an elite route specialist out of college but didn't live up to the billing. I think fantasy managers don't value enough the idea of coaches getting "their guys." It's possible Johnson isn't a huge fan of players like Moore.
DJ Moore’s effort on this play is extremely concerning pic.twitter.com/C9KNd2FxwD
— Football Analysis (@FBallAnalysisYT) November 4, 2024
This is not a cherry-picked play. In fact, there have been multiple questions about Moore's effort in recent years. It might not be something Johnson will stand for, and it could cause Moore to give up on even more plays if he knows he'll be targeted less moving forward.
Additionally, Odunze was awful against zone coverage last season, and Burden is a developmental prospect who doesn't excel at separating against tight coverage. With that in mind, the path for Loveland to have a monster target share in his first season seems wide open.
Colston Loveland's catch radius is obscene pic.twitter.com/G7ce44pvjX
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 26, 2025
Loveland could immediately be Johnson's favorite mismatch weapon. I'm aware that quarterback Caleb Williams didn't play especially well last season, despite Bears fans' insistence that his touchdown-to-interception ratio was good, and that's all that mattered.
But if there's one thing a struggling quarterback loves, it's a mismatch weapon. Loveland is far too quick for linebackers to cover, and his size allows him to bully cornerbacks and safeties if need be. Most linebackers are shorter than him as well. He can play in the slot and on the perimeter, and always be a menace to opposing defenses.
At 6’5, Colston Loveland (TE #Michigan) plays with an impressive twitchiness to his game.
I love his catch-to-attack mentality here. Smooth and efficient runner.
A lot of potential here… pic.twitter.com/dSOSJzEsiP
— SCOUTD (@scoutdnfl) December 19, 2024
For all that Warren was praised for being elite with the ball in his hands, Loveland is actually someone I trust more after the catch. Making defenders miss with elusiveness is not only a much more sustainable but also a more reliable approach to gaining extra yards.
It's much more challenging to run NFL defenders over, shrug them off, and still pick up big yardage. At the very least, you're taking a big hit and slowing your momentum until another defender can drag you to the ground. Loveland is adept at dodging defenders and maximizing his gains on every play.
Colston Loveland is Going to be a Monster.
📌 6’5 / 245 lbs - Long, Strong, Athletic
📌 Natural separator (❤️) +++
📌 Tough, Coordinated, ExplosiveThere are some really fun landing spots…
(#Bengals? #Chargers? #Broncos? #Patriots? #Rams? #Chiefs??) https://t.co/M4udmb1Vlb pic.twitter.com/DH8rXgLfMu— SCOUTD (@scoutdnfl) February 14, 2025
It turns out that when you have a horrible quarterback at the collegiate level, the entire community sleeps on your skill set. Loveland's is absurd. He has a ridiculous catch radius, elite body control, is a good blocker, is great after the catch, can adjust on the fly to off-target passes, and has great hands.
So he's the one you should draft, and for me, it isn't particularly close. Johnson's offensive system is known for producing league winners. The Bears bolstered the hell out of the offensive line, so Williams will have a much easier time being a productive passer.
Verdict
It's not very close, and it hasn't been for me. I've been touting Loveland as this year's TE1 for months, and seeing my opinion vindicated by the real NFL Draft was awesome. If Warren truly were the generational prospect in this year's rookie class, he would have been picked before Loveland.
The Bears are also a much better landing spot once you cut through the noise and figure out what Johnson wants. That's important! I wouldn't trust any Colts pass-catchers for the next few seasons, but I have no problem taking talented Bears receivers. My favorite this year happens to be a rookie tight end.
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