Dawgs By Nature
After David Njoku, the Browns tight end depth chart is lacking proven commodities, Noah Fant could help
In what seems like wild timing, a starting tight end from last season has just hit the market before the start of full training camp for a lot of teams, including the Cleveland Browns. On Sunday, the Seattle Seahawks released TE Noah Fant, a key component (after the draft picks) in the team’s trade of QB Russell Wilson three seasons ago.
The 6’4” Fant was the Seahawks starting tight end the last three seasons, including 48 receptions for 500 yards and a touchdown in 2024. Fant had just five fewer receiving yards than Browns TE David Njoku last year, despite Njoku having 16 more receptions and 33 more targets.
According to ESPN, Fant was around a top 20 tight end given his ranking in a few categories over the last three seasons, but lacked touchdowns:
Over his three seasons with Seattle, Fant ranked 20th among tight ends in receptions (130), 21st in receiving yards (1,400) and tied for 38th in touchdowns (5).
The remainder of Fant’s contract was a non-guaranteed $9 million. While Seattle does not need cap space this season, they save a large amount with this move and open up playing time for their second-round pick this year, Elijah Arroyo.
Given his overall production, Fant could see a decent amount of attention on the NFL free agency market despite his late release. Cleveland should be one of those teams with Njoku at the top of their depth chart, followed by Whiteheart and third-round pick Harold Fannin Jr.
Whiteheart has a total of six receptions in 13 career games, while Fannin is coming from Bowling Green State University and will have a huge step up in competition at the NFL level.
Fant would likely be an upgrade to the roster while getting a chance to shine in Kevin Stefanski’s two-tight-end sets.
Do you think the Browns should pursue Fant on the free agent market or should Fannin get the reps behind Njoku?
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