Rap: Warren (groin) will be ready W1, role to grow

Warren’s underwhelming line can be blamed on the offense’s struggle to move the ball all afternoon. The second-year tight end tallied two receptions in the first half, both for two yards, with his longest play coming on a nine-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. His five targets were good for second-most on the team, but the Colts offense left a lot to be desired this week. The expected volume will keep Warren in the TE1 mix for Week 2 against the Chiefs.

Pierce is recovering from offseason surgery that caused him to miss the entirety of training camp and the preseason. The lack of reps could leave him a little rusty heading into Week 1, but the good news is that a limited practice today means he should be active versus the Ravens. Pierce will be a high-risk WR4 for the first slate of the season. Josh Downs and Tyler Warren were not on the injury report.

Warren is recovering from an apparently minor groin injury. By all accounts he should be a full go for Week 1. Warren last season was top three among tight ends in targets per route run and first-read target rate in the balanced Colts offense. He’ll offer a sturdy weekly floor and could lead the team in targets in 2026 if he stays healthy.

Steichen adds that the team will be cautious with Warren’s recovery, but chose not to share details regarding the injury’s severity beyond that. If healthy, the second-year tight end is a candidate to lead the team in targets this season after racking up 106 as a rookie. The Colts’ pass-catching corps is in a tough spot, with WR Alec Pierce (ankle) still sidelined. If Warren cannot play in Week 1, WR Josh Downs would presumably handle a sizable target share, operating as the team’s clear-cut No. 1 target earner. Stay tuned.

According to Boyd, Warren “went down” while running a route during 11-on-11 drills. He “got up clutching at his groin area” before making his way to the sideline to meet with the Colts’ training staff. FOX 59’s Mike Chappell said Warren was exhibiting a limp while leaving the field. This is not the kind of news we want to hear, but the second-year tight end still has time to rehab a minor tweak before the regular season opener. Stay tuned.

The new was first reported by NFL Insider Jordan Schultz. With the Colts in need of a starting caliber receiver given Alec Pierce’s slow recovery from offseason ankle surgery, Allen was an obvious fit. He was the best wide receiver still available and with the news that the Saints lost Jordyn Tyson (hamstring) for roughly two months dropping earlier Monday evening, the Colts finally pulled the trigger on a one-year deal for the 34-year-old veteran. While Allen instantly becomes a fantasy-relevant player again, his fit in the offense is interesting. Even in his prime, Allen was never a field-stretching deep threat like Pierce, the receiver he’s replacing. That means he’ll be fighting for the same underneath targets that will also go to Tyler Warren and Josh Downs. There will be plenty of targets to go around for all three to pay off their draft cost in PPR formats, but the overall efficiency of the offense could suffer without a legitimate deep threat.

Pierce remains well behind schedule following offseason surgery on his ankle, with it now coming to light that the veteran receiver required a second PRP injection in his left ankle. Now well beyond the original recovery window following the late-March surgery, Pierce appears to be in legitimate danger of missing time when games start to count if the platelet-rich plasma injections do not speed up his recovery for the second time. Pierce signed a four-year, $114 million contract extension with the Colts this offseason after the team lost Michael Pittman in a trade to the Steelers, signifying an intent to move forward with Pierce as their primary option at the position. That move could prove costly if Pierce misses regular season time. Josh Downs and Tyler Warren would be in line to benefit the most from any absence from Pierce.

Warren led the team with 112 targets last season, joining former Colts WR Marvin Harrison (118) as the only rookies to lead the team in receiving in franchise history. Chappell notes that the Colts will need more from all of their pass catchers, with former No. 1 WR Michael Pittman Jr. now a Steeler, but he chose to build the article around Warren’s 2026 outlook, which says something. Warren has focused on exploding out of his breaks this offseason, in an effort to create more space from defenders as a route runner. If he can refine this aspect of his game, he should continue to generate explosive gains regularly this season. Warren is a TE1 in fantasy drafts, whose stock should increase as QB Daniel Jones (Achilles) continues making progress in his rehab.

He also projects some of Pittman’s targets to head to Josh Downs, perhaps elevating Downs to the fantasy WR4 line. Warren tapered off down the stretch as the Colts struggled with injured Daniel Jones and without Really Injured Daniel Jones. It does make sense that he’d take a second-year leap and be the preferred possession receiver in Pittman’s absence.

The standard pre- and post-Daniel Jones splits for Colts skill players hit Warren. He averaged five receptions and 61.7 yards per game over Indy’s first 10 games. From Weeks 11-17, with Jones injured and later lost for the season, Warren averaged 3.5 catches for 29 yards a game, scoring just once. He remains a plausible TE1, and will have top-five upside cases entering the offseason as the Colts could lose Alec Pierce in free agency and move on from Michael Pittman Jr. Warren isn’t a special mover, but he’s a stellar technician with more tackle-breaking power than you’d expect based on his pure size.