The 2025 NFL Draft is not wanting for tight end talent. This year's crop of in-line blockers and split-out pass catchers will offer needy teams across the league multiple chances to find a dynamic starter well beyond Day 1.
Despite that depth, there's enough star power to make the position a first round priority. Penn State's Tyler Warren, Michigan's Colston Loveland and, thanks in part to a late pre-draft surge, LSU's Mason Taylor have all put themselves in the mix to be top 32 selections.
What comes next? Let's single out one stud, one sleeper and one deep, deep sleeper who could play major roles on Sunday.
Studs are players with first-round grades. Their inclusion here doesn't necessarily mean they're the best at their position — just that they're worth singling out for a deeper look. Sleepers are prospects slated for selection in the middle or toward the end of the 2025 NFL Draft. REM cycle stars — the deep sleepers — will likely be undrafted free agents after pick No. 257 is read. That's going to create an uphill battle to find a roster spot, but these could be bargain pickups who play key roles for playoff teams.
Let's talk about three guys who could have big NFL impacts from three very different draft positions this spring.
Stud: Tyler Warren
The most disappointing thing about Warren's draft stock is that Bill Belichick is no longer in the NFL to trade back and turn him into the defense-shredding mutant he's meant to be. Someone will, certainly, but it won't be the current North Carolina head coach who once turned the Rob Gronkowski-Aaron Hernandez combination into a waking nightmare for AFC East defensive coordinators.
Warren will happily line up wherever you need him and create problems for the other team. In line? The man relishes his blocking duties. Split wide? He's a mismatch machine at 6-foot-6 with game-breaking play speed. In the backfield? He ran for 218 yards and four touchdowns last season. Throwing passes? SURE, WHY NOT?
I've been trying to avoid obvious studs in these columns because there's already been so much written about them through the pre-draft process. But Warren is just so dang fun to watch because you genuinely don't know what his upper bound is. James Franklin and offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki just sorted shrugged, put him wherever, then rolled to the program's best season in two decades (there was more to it than that, but still. Tyler Warren!).
Warren looks like the video game boss version of Deebo Samuel; bigger, stronger but somehow roughly as versatile. His blocking isn't foolproof and he can tend to round off his routes or be misdirected, but both these things are understandable (since, you know, he played everywhere) and correctable. His flaws pale in comparison to the massive potential he brings to an offense. Warren is the kind of player who unlocks new chapters in the playbook.
You're an NFL team that's set at tight end? Cool, draft Tyler Warren anyway. He's significantly more than a tight end. The man is a barely contained hurricane in pads. He's going to make everything so much more exciting.
Sleeper: Oronde Gadsden II
Can the son of a remember-some-guys NFL all-star really be a sleeper? Gadsden will test that theory after earning minimal buzz despite ...
