Indianapolis Colts' rookie QB Riley Leonard weighs in on playing with TE Tyler Warren
After competing against Tyler Warren in the College Football Playoffs, Indianapolis Colts' rookie quarterback Riley Leonard is now happy to have Tyler Warren on his team.
'Yeah, man. Look, Tyler, he's a football player," Leonard said during rookie minicamp via Horseshoe Huddle. "Like, he went out there (Friday) and just very easily adapted -- he's a quarterback-friendly guy, catches, soft hands, and things like that."
As Jake Aruther would detail, on the very first snap of the Colts' 7-on-7 period during last Friday's practice, Leonard connected with Warren over the middle of the field. Arthur added that Leonard continued to target Warren over the next two days.
Warren catching passes over the middle of the field is something Colts fans are going to see a lot of. Along with totaling over 100 receptions and eclipsing 1,200 receiving yards last season, a lot of that production from Warren came across the middle.
As GM Chris Ballard noted after the draft, Warren's size and reliability as a pass-catcher make him a steady target between the numbers. His presence there will also help open up opportunities for others in the passing game as well.
In addition to Warren's contributions through the passing game, his do-it-all skill set, which allows him to be moved around the formation and able to handle run-blocking duties, will then allow Shane Steichen to utilize him in a variety of roles, just as the Penn State offense did.
Once again, this is just another way that Warren can put stress on defenses and create mismatches for both himself and his teammates to exploit.
"Tyler Warren is like you strap up those pads, that's another version of that dude," Leonard continued. "Some guys are just football players, and he's definitely one of them. You can kind of tell. When he gets his hand in the dirt and straps it up, I'm excited to see it because I obviously saw it in person when we played him in the playoffs. It was fun to watch, kind of.'
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