The best way the New England Patriots can support Drake Maye in the 2025 NFL Draft is by finding him a starting left tackle. But the Patriots also can help their second-year quarterback by drafting a top-flight pass-catcher — and that doesn’t necessarily mean a wide receiver.
Penn State product Tyler Warren is the consensus No. 1 tight end in this year’s draft class and is viewed by many as a top 10 overall prospect. Warren put up monster stats in 2024 — 104 catches for 1,233 yards and eight touchdowns in addition to 218 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 26 carries as a Wildcat quarterback — and has even drawn comparisons to Rob Gronkowski.
While the Patriots already have Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper on their tight end depth chart, would they be inclined to give Maye another versatile playmaker by trading down in the top 10 to draft Warren — as our Phil Perry laid out in his latest mock draft — or by taking him at No. 4 overall?
Warren joined our Tom E. Curran for an exclusive interview on the Patriots Talk Podcast and shared a favorable impression of New England if he were to wind up in Foxboro.
🔊 Patriots Talk Podcast: Tyler Warren on the prospect of playing for the Patriots | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
“They’ve had some success with tight ends in the past, and they’ve got some good tight ends there (in Henry and Hooper); that would be awesome opportunity for a young guy to learn from,” Warren told Curran of the Patriots. “And if I am on your team, I would do whatever I can to help win and help the offense be the best that it can be and play the game the right way. That’s kind of how I try and do it: play the game the way it’s meant to be played.”
Warren, who isn’t on social media aside from a sparingly-used Instagram account, describes himself as a “simple guy” who “just like(s) to play football and play it the right way.” If Warren’s mindset reminds you a bit of Maye’s, the 22-year-old tight end admitted he’s heard others compare him to the Patriots QB in terms of their personalities.
“I saw a little bit more of him when he was in college, just because you don’t get to watch the NFL as much when you’re playing college football,” Warren said of Maye. “But I know some guys that met him through their process, and they say good things about him. And people have said that we might be kind of wired similarly and be similar in some type of way.
“I think he’s a great quarterback and he’s got a bright future ahead of him.”
Whether Warren is part of that future in New England remains to be seen, as the Patriots may choose to prioritize left tackle or wide receiver with their first-round pick. But Warren’s offensive versatility could endear him to new Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who found plenty of success with the tight end duo of Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez in the early 2010s.
Warren says he models his game after a pair of dynamic, hard-charging tight ends in George Kittle and Jeremy Shockey.
“I think Kittle is a good one, just from the aspect of being able to do everything that a tight end does, from the run game to pass game to run-after-catch, I think is another thing he does really well,” Warren said. “And then another person I saw this summer that I actually started to watch a little bit was Jeremy Shockey. His mentality he had when he was running the ball and stuff like that was something I really liked.”
Warren especially prides himself on his ability to contribute in multiple ways, whether that’s as a pass-catcher, a blocker or a ball-carrier in the running game.
“Just being able to move around and do a bunch different roles with an offense I think is what makes tight end fun in general, because you kind of get to do a little bit of everything,” Warren said. “I did a little bit of a wider range of stuff in college last year, and I think that’s something that helps me out, being able to fill a lot of different roles within the offense.”
Check out Warren’s full interview with Curran as well as Phil Perry’s conversation with top running back prospect Ashton Jeanty on a new Patriots Talk:
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