The tight end position is the biggest area of concern on the Colts offense. If they want any hope of being a competent offense that can assist their young quarterback and bolster the passing game, the Colts must over-invest in a tight end. The idea behind over-investing is to essentially throw everything on the table with the hope of getting a guy that sticks. Over the past few years, the Colts have tried the draft and it hasn’t worked. They have several promising talents in Drew Ogletree and Will Mallory, but they don’t have a guy who can be an all-around tight end. The Colts need a tight end who can be a threat in both the run and pass.
This is not to say that a tight end will suddenly make the Colts a Super Bowl contender, but investing in this kind of position will get them closer. For starters, almost every team that competes for a Super Bowl has an all-around reliable tight end. The Chiefs have Travis Kelce. The Eagles have Dallas Goedert. Lastly, the Ravens have Mark Andrews, to name a few out of many. Even in the Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning days, the Colts had reliable tight ends in Dallas Clark, Coby Fleener, and even Eric Ebron. In this new era with Chris Ballard, the hunt for a tight end is still in progress and that hunt needs to stop in 2025.
How the Colts Can Invest In a Tight End
The NFL Draft
The more talked about area in which the Colts can invest in a tight end is in the NFL Draft. According to several mock drafts, the Colts are projected to select the top tight end in college, Tyler Warren. It would be a dream if he is available at 14, but there is no guarantee. If Warren is not available, there are several other options where the Colts can look to invest. Colston Loveland is the second-highest-rated tight end in the draft behind Warren and is projected to be a first-round pick. Loveland was not able to produce at the level that Warren was able to in 2024, but he would still be a great asset to the Colts offense.
Even if the Colts do not choose to go tight end in the first round, there are still some good options that can come up in the second or third rounds. Elijah Arroyo from Miami and Mason Taylor from LSU would be good candidates to shore up this much-needed void. The one caveat with the NFL Draft is that there are never any guarantees that a player’s talent in college will translate to the NFL. The Colts are very well aware of this as Jelani Woods, Kylan Granson, Drew Ogletree, and even Will Mallory have all not fanned out as well as expected. However, this is where free agency can come into play.
Free Agency
Assuming that the Colts draft a tight end within the first 90 picks, they would be wise to also acquire a veteran via free agency. The thought process is that if the draft pick does not work out, at least the Colts can have an experienced guy at the helm who can make plays. Again, the Colts need to invest in this area so if it means paying more for a top guy, then that’s where they need to go. The two likely tight ends that the Colts could acquire would be Mike Gesicki or Tyler Conklin. Both are solid, veteran tight ends, who can bring experience and much-needed talent.
Gesicki spent much of his career with the Miami Dolphins before landing with the New England Patriots in 2023 and then the Cincinnati Bengals in 2024. Just last season he had one of his more productive years. He finished with 665 yards, a catch success rate of 62.7%, and an overall catch percentage of 78.3%. Needless to say, Gesicki has sure hands, which is something that the Colts need in a tight end.
Conklin has split his NFL career between the Minnesota Vikings and the New York Jets. Throughout those years, he has been a solid and consistent playmaker. Over the last four years, Conklin has averaged 553 yards per season and only had 10 drops. Similar to Gesicki, Conklin is a very solid pass-catcher and blocker. The Colts will need to get creative this season with their tight ends as they need to make additions via the draft and free agency. Over-investing in this area will be key to the success of the offense.
Main Photo: Nathan Ray Seebeck – Imagn Images
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