Colts Given Sage Advice on How to Proceed in NFL Draft

The Indianapolis Colts need tight end help -- that's no secret.

Statistically, their tight end room was considered the second-least-productive unit in the NFL in 2024. There were actually 25 individual tight ends across the NFL who had more receiving yards by themselves than the 467 yards that the entirety of the Colts' tight ends produced.

Kylen Granson was the Colts' leading receiving tight end but departed in free agency for the Philadelphia Eagles. Likewise, Mo Alie-Cox has been the most consistent presence in the Colts' tight end room for the last few years but remains a free agent.

Recently, Moe Moton of Bleacher Report gave a sentence-worth of advice to each team as we approach the NFL Draft in the coming weeks. Unsurprisingly, his words for the Colts have to do with the tight end position.

"In a battle between inefficient quarterbacks Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones, you need a big target at tight end such as Tyler Warren or Colston Loveland," Moton wrote to the Colts.

Make no mistake, Granson and Alie-Cox were obviously not adequate pass-catching leaders of the Colts' tight end room, but with them out the door, the pickins are even slimmer.

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The top returning tight end for the Colts is Drew Ogletree, who has played in 29 games (15 starts) since 2023. He suffered a torn ACL as a rookie in the summer of 2022 and missed the final two games of 2023 while away from the team, dealing with allegations of domestic violence. Finally, he played a full season in 2024. In his career, Ogletree has caught 18-of-35 targets (2 drops) for 256 yards (14.2 avg.) and 3 touchdowns.

Next is Will Mallory, who has been active for just 22 games (2 starts) in two years, often being a healthy scratch on gamedays. He has caught 22-of-34 targets (0 drops) for 236 yards (10.7 avg.).

Jelani Woods is one of the biggest "what ifs" in recent Colts memory. The former third-round pick tested as the most athletic tight end in NFL history in 2022 and played 15 games (2 starts) as a rookie, catching 25-of-40 targets (2 drops) for 312 yards (12.5 avg.) and 3 touchdowns. Woods then missed all of 2023 with hamstring injuries and all of 2024 with a foot injury.

The Colts then have two veterans at the bottom of their depth chart in Sean McKeon and Albert Okwuegbunam.

McKeon has seen 45 games (3 starts) from 2020-23 for the Dallas Cowboys, catching 6-of-11 targets (0 drops) for 38 yards (6.3 avg.) and 1 touchdown. Okwuegbunam has been active for 30 games (7 starts) from 2020-23 with the Denver Broncos and Eagles, catching 54-of-74 targets (5 drops) for 546 yards (10.1 avg.) and 4 touchdowns.

This is a great year for the Colts to need a tight end in the draft. They're most commonly mocked to select Tyler Warren or Colston Loveland in the first round. They could also either trade back in the first round or trade up in the second round to select Mason Taylor. On Day 2, Elijah Arroyo, Terrance Ferguson, and Harold Fannin Jr. are all options, while the likes of Thomas Fidone, Gunnar Helm, Jake Briningstool, Mitchell Evans, Oronde Gadsden II, Luke Lachey, and others await them throughout the remainder of the draft.

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