Trey McBride spends much of his offseason watching film. Not just of himself, but of other tight ends, hoping to learn something from their game and implement it into his.
One of the tight ends was Colts rookie Tyler Warren.
"He was a good player (at Penn State), made a lot of plays, did a lot of different things," McBride said. "He ran the ball, caught the ball. He's a very good, contested catcher and I'm excited to see him play."
The success has translated to the NFL quickly for the first-round pick. Warren leads all tight ends in receiving yards with 307. McBride sits third with 275 yards.
Colts coach Shane Steichen and Jonathan Gannon worked together in Philadelphia, so the Cardinals coach has seen various ways Steichen has deployed tight ends. Steichen has experience working with Dallas Goedert and Hall of Famer Antonio Gates while they were in San Diego.
The Colts use Warren as a do-it-all player. He plays as a traditional tight end and serves as one of their deep threats. He has lined up as a fullback and has had four rushes this season. Warren has also played some quarterback, being used in wildcat situations and attempted his first pass last weekend.
"He's got some creativity that gets him the ball, and he's got a really cool skillset," Gannon said, adding that the Cardinals liked Warren's tape coming out of college. "He gets open, and he catches it, and he can run after the catch. He's got a huge catch radius, ball skills, and he can block. I know he's a rookie, but he definitely jumps off the tape."
Warren is one of the Colts' top targets, especially on first down. He's tied with Ja'Marr Chase, Christian McCaffrey, and Garrett Wilson for sixth in the NFL with eight receptions on first down.
But the Cardinals might be the best team suited to face Warren.
"In camp we go against one of the best tight ends in the NFL with Trey," linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither said. "We get a lot of practice at covering tight ends and we know what Warren likes to do in certain alignments and formations and stuff like that. We need to take it away and execute the play calls."
Safety Jalen Thompson echoed Davis-Gaither's point, mentioning that "going against Trey is like going against a receiver," which can prepare them for Warren's versatility. Through five weeks, the Cardinals defense has only allowed a tight end to go over 50 yards twice.
The Colts offense has been firing on all cylinders. The relationship between quarterback Daniel Jones and wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. has been smooth, as has Jonathan Taylor's remarkable start in the run game.
But there isn't room to ignore Warren.
"I think you know what type of plays you get when he's in the game and of course you know what type of plays you'd get when he's not in the game because he is the focal point," Davis-Gaither said. "There are some tells when he is in, when he is out, and as a defense as a whole, we got to study the film and execute it when those plays come up."
The game on Sunday will feature two of the rising stars at the position. But the Cardinals are hoping the conversation surrounds their Pro Bowl tight end going forward.
"Hopefully he doesn't have a good game this week," McBride said with a smile. "But I'm always pulling for him."
