Penn State football's Tyler Warren is shockingly not the top tight-end prospect, according to an NFL analyst in his recent draft rankings. This report comes shortly after experts called the John Mackey Award winner an “identity changer” for certain teams with high first-round draft picks. And the player projected to be a better prospect is from a rival school.

According to ESPN NFL analyst Benjamin Solak, Tyler Warren is not on the same level as Michigan's Colston Loveland. Solak made this bold take over Twitter.

“Loveland easily cleared Tyler Warren for me in grading. Warren definitely has a different style of TE, and I expect teams to be split, but Loveland's got ‘the passing game runs through me' potential.”

Ranking anyone ahead of Tyler Warren in this year's draft is a make-or-break take

Michigan Wolverines tight end Colston Loveland (18) runs with the ball in the second half against the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium.
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Colston Loveland has been a terrific player for the Wolverines over the years. The 20-year-old out of Goldendale, Washington, has made two All-Big Ten teams and was a Second-team All-American this past season. Loveland caught 56 passes for 582 yards and five touchdowns in 2024. At 6'5 “, 245 lbs, with 4.5 speed, it's not a surprise that the Michigan standout is getting a lot of hype.

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But it's a very, very bold take to rate Loveland ahead of Warren. Especially with the comments that Solak used to justify it. The Penn State football passing game did run through Tyler Warren this past season, and the Nittany Lions made it to the College Football Playoff semifinal doing so.

For the season, the 6'6, 257 lb senior caught 104 passes for 1,233 yards and eight touchdowns. The closest wideout to Warren's receiving yards was Harrison Wallace III, with 720 yards. No one else on the Nittany Lions' roster had more than five touchdown catches.

With very little help from the Penn State football wide receiving group, Warren consistently faced double teams. And it did not matter. The Mechanicsville, Virginia native was still the best tight end in the country. It is important to note that Warren is two years older than Loveland. But the Nittany Lions' TE is also rated as a much better blocker than his Big Ten rival and is only a little slower with a 4.75 40-yard-dash time.

Overall, Tyler Warren might be set to be the NFL's next great tight end. While players like Travis Kelce reinvented the position to be more pass-catching oriented, Penn State's star can both catch and block in the mold of one of the recent all-time greats, Rob Gronkowski. Being able to pass and run block at this position is still extremely valuable.

Warren, therefore, is just more of a known prospect than Loveland. While both should thrive at the next level, making the argument that Loveland is clearly the prospect out of the two is either going to age very well or very poorly. There's no in-between.