Kahale Warring has had injuries derail the start of what should have been a promising career. We take a look to see if he’s worth a dynasty stash in fantasy football leagues going forward.
In 2019, the Houston Texans selected Kahale Warring in the third-round of the NFL Draft. Warring was a walk-on at San Diego State University after only having one year of football experience in high school. In his final season at SDSU he would lead the team in catches and finish 2nd in receiving yards; which is pretty amazing if you think about it; even if the numbers aren’t overwhelming.
Injuries have been the biggest problem in Warring’s young career. He broke his foot in 2016 which caused him to miss the rest of the season. In the NFL, similar problems persisted. A concussion and hamstring injury caused him to miss the entire 2019 season. In 2020 he would also land on injured deserve after a plethora of injuries. He would later come back and secure seven targets and three catches on the year.
As you’re reading this you’re probably thinking, ‘why in the hell is this guy trying to convince me that Kahale Warring is a thing‘?
Whether fans would like to admit it or not, teams don’t like to give up on high draft picks. In the most recent data available, third-round draft selections have over a 60% chance of remaining on their team going into their third year. For a player who was going to need time to develop at a position that requires the most time to develop, the door isn’t closed on Warring yet.
Warring has a very athletic profile and has shown that despite limited playing time, he has the potential to make his mark in the NFL. His 40-yard dash, speed score, burst score, and catch radius are all above-average at the position; ranking in the 80+ percentile (minus his 40-yard, which was at 79).
Warring has extremely crisp route running for a player with little experience at the position. His quickness makes it hard for linebackers and safeties to keep up with him, allowing to create great separation when going into the second and third level.
#SDSU TE Kahale Warring is a really intriguing prospect. Tons of talent and ideal size for the position. Watch him accelerate off the line, set up the corner route in his stem, and then sink his hips and explode out of his break for the TD. Not fair at 6-6, 250 pounds. pic.twitter.com/45TUqwibnI
— Evan Lazar (@ezlazar) February 16, 2019
Even when faced against press coverage he has shown the burst and strength to get past it with relative ease and quickness.
Look at how fast Kahale Warring (no. 2 to the boundary) beats press coverage, forces the hold pic.twitter.com/kGjCViM0sd
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) February 22, 2019
San Diego State Kahale Warring is able to best the press and then use his leverage to get outside for an easy catch #NFLDraft #Aztecs #SDSU pic.twitter.com/w2MyYNcw9I
— Brian Johannes (@Draft_Brian) February 11, 2019
Warring is not only a good route runner, but he isn’t afraid to go up and get the ball. He has strong hands and isn’t afraid of contact, continuously making catches in traffic. When he gets the ball in his hands, he doesn’t want to go down easy, either. He could high-point the ball more consistently, but given how tall he is it doesn’t matter as much. Below are a couple of clips highlighting this ability from Warring.
Kahale Warring is so fluid for a big TE. Athletic testing results are evident. Need to watch more but I'm pretty sure he's a top 5 TE in this class
Jaguars should be v interested given his blocking and versatility, can play inline + H back in new scheme ala Trey Burton pic.twitter.com/34etvVL0tE
— Jack (@PintOfJack) March 17, 2019
Kahale Warring TE prospect 👍🏼 #NFLDraft2019
— Alex V (@NYJetsLife24) April 7, 2019
One of the more underrated aspects of Warring’s game is his ability as an in-line blocker. This is where most young tight ends struggle going into the NFL; but Warring shows incredible burst out of his stance and the strength to take opposing defenders out of the play. While this clip against Boise State shows some pass-catching ability from Warring, there are a plethora of snaps as a blocker that are quite impressive given how little time he spent as a football player prior to this.
Putting a bunch of it together from the Boise State game for TE Kahale Warring. If this guy doesn’t come off the board before the end of Day 2 then I give up. pic.twitter.com/qViEHxvoOZ
— Chris Kouffman (@ckparrot) March 25, 2019
Right now Warring does have some competition in the tight end room in Houston. Darren Fells and Jordan Akins took the lionshare of the snaps for the Texans in 2020. The good news for Warring is that neither of them were able to instill confidence that they can be ‘the guy’ going forward. Fells will be 35 by the start of the season, with a likely chance that his opportunity diminishes going into 2021. Akins was able to benefit from injuries to Randall Cobb and a suspension of Will Fuller V, but had a hard time converting when the team got into the RZ.
So is Kahale Warring worth a dynasty stash?
There’s a real chance that Kahale Warring ends up being relevant in fantasy football in 2021. The Texans don’t have as much capital to go and acquire another tight end to threaten and leapfrog him in responsibility, and with his ability to run excellent routes and block, he still holds great value for the team.
As of right now Warring is going undrafted in fantasy football leagues. The amount of risk to acquire him is zero, and in deep leagues he’s absolutely worth a speculative add to stash on your bench. If he ends up reaching his potential, he has the ability to become a viable streaming option at TE. At worst, you wasted nothing to acquire him and nothing to lose him.
