The Green Bay Packers used one of their 30 official pre-draft visits on San Diego State tight end Kahale Warring, an inexperienced but athletic player who could develop into a solid inline tight end at the next level.
The visit was first reported by Tom Silverstein of PackersNews.com.
Warring caught 51 passes for 637 yards and eight touchdowns over 29 career games. He hauled in 31 passes for 372 yards and three scores as a junior in 2018 before declaring for the NFL draft.
Warring has only been playing competitive football for five years. He began as a senior in high school and earned a chance to play at San Diego State, where he stayed for four years, including a redshirt year as a freshman. He reportedly put on 30 pounds in college while developing into a legitimate NFL prospect.
Warring (6-5, 252) certainly looks the part of a pro tight end. And he tested well at the combine, running the 40-yard dash in 4.67 seconds, hitting 36.5 inches on the vertical and 122 inches on the broad jump, putting up 19 reps on the bench press and finishing the three-cone drill in 7.21 seconds and the short shuttle in 4.25. He actually compares well from a size and athleticism perspective to Iowa’s T.J. Hockenson, another versatile tight end prospect often tied to the Packers.
Lance Zierlein of NFL.com has compared Warring to former NFL tight end Todd Heap.
“Exciting and ascending, Warring is still a relative newcomer to the game, but he has the size, speed and athleticism to become a versatile, high-impact player on the pro level,” Zierlein wrote. “He has the competitiveness to handle run-blocking duties and the talent to line up in the slot. While his production won’t catch your eye, his tape does with quickness and ball skills that should make him a more productive target in the NFL than he was in college.”
The Packers have an obvious need for a two-way tight end like Warring. Matt LaFleur’s offense likely requires a tight end that can play inline and both block in the run game and make plays as a receiver downfield. Warring, although raw, appears to have the skillset worth developing in both areas.
