Whenever Tyler Warren gets the ball, teammates expect something good to happen

Tyler Warren’s role in the Indianapolis Colts offense may not always show up as a headline stat, but the message from his teammates is consistent: when he’s targeted and touches the ball, good things follow. In the team’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Warren produced his biggest effort of the 2026 season with seven catches for 83 yards and added a rushing touchdown as well.

That performance matters because it reinforces the trust the Colts’ tight end corps has placed in Warren after a standout rookie run. Through the first five games of 2025, Warren had 23 catches for 307 yards, including an average of 6.2 yards after the catch. By contrast, through the first five games of 2026, he has 30 catches for 213 yards, with his yards after the catch down to 4.3 per attempt.

Colts beat writers often talk about defensive adjustments, and the team’s own framing of the season includes that idea. One factor mentioned internally is that the offense’s look was different in 2026 because the downfield threat provided by wide receiver Alec Pierce is not available, with Pierce listed on injured reserve due to a heel injury. With less worry about that specific matchup, defenses can emphasize Warren in other ways.

The Colts also pointed to the matchup-driven nature of their tight end usage. Tight end Mo Alie-Cox said that “a bunch of our plays depend on the defensive look we get,” and that the team has not always reached the right looks. He tied Warren’s opportunity to the matchups that appear week to week, noting that when favorable alignments show up, Warren’s production becomes more likely to match expectations.

Even with the statistical dip, teammates described a steady confidence in what Warren can do once he has the ball. Guard Matt Goncalves said whenever Warren does something with the ball, he expects it to lead to something positive, and Alie-Cox emphasized Warren’s toughness and in-play adjustments as reasons the offense benefits from him.

In other words, the Colts are not claiming a return to 2025 production is guaranteed, but they are arguing the same underlying point: Warren’s impact is tied to how defenses play him, and that still creates real opportunity for the offense.