Beleaguered Steelers defense prepares for Penn State alum, Colts star TE Tyler Warren
No team in the NFL has allowed more yards per game against from tight ends than the Pittsburgh Steelers.
No tight end in the NFL has more receiving yards than Tyler Warren.
Say no more in regards to what can be a critical matchup of Sunday’s Steelers-Colts game at Acrisure Stadium.
“Obviously,” Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said, “he presents a big challenge.”
A Penn State alum, Warren was so good as a senior last season that he finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy balloting.
As a tight end.
That made Warren the highest-finishing tight end in the Heisman voting in 47 years.
“You got to see him when he was at Penn State,” Austin said, “and all the different things that he did there, he’s doing the same things there.”
Warren lined up during a Week 4 game at quarterback (according to Pro Football Focus data). He has lined up in the backfield on 35 occasions through eight pro games. Last year for Penn State, Warren 40 times took a snap, on 69 occasions was in the backfield and eight times even was a lineman — during a game at USC last fall, Warren was the center for a snap.
For Penn State in 2024, Warren had 218 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.
As a pro, PFF grades him as the second-best pass-blocking tight end in the NFL this season, in addition to above-average run-block metrics.
Oh yeah, catching the ball? He’s pretty good at that, too. Warren has followed up a 104-catch, 1,233-yard senior season for the Nittany Lions by catching 37 balls for 492 yards and three touchdowns over his first eight NFL games after Indianapolis drafted him 14th overall.
That’s a pace for a full season of 79 catches and 1,045 yards.
“Man, he’s plug-and-play not only in terms of his playing ability but their utilization of him,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “They use him in a variety of schemes and get the ball in his hands early and often. Some of the things that you saw on video at Penn State you see on video Indianapolis. But that’s why you take dynamic players like him that high. He’s been an integral component of what they’ve been able to do offensively. Can’t say enough about him.”
The Steelers, meanwhile, are coming off a game in which Green Bay’s Tucker Kraft had seven receptions for 143 yards and two touchdowns.
No team in the NFL this season has allowed more yards per game to opposing tight ends (79.2); only one team has allowed more tight end touchdowns against (six in seven games).
Making matters worse, the Steelers will face Warren without their starting strong safety, DeShon Elliott, who went on injured reserve Friday (knee).
“Whoever is in the game, be available and be ready to give our best effort to stop this guy,” Austin said. “That’s the job.”
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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