Harold Fannin an afterthought in Week 1 loss

Fannin’s worst game of the season came in rainy New Jersey conditions. That obviously held down the Browns’ passing-game production, but it’s confusing they weren’t drawing up more manufactured, chain-moving looks for their YAC-focused tight end. Fannin established a 2026 ceiling the past two weeks, but today’s effort reminds of just how low his floor can be with Deshaun Watson under center and more target competition in the skill corps.

The score was his third trip to paint in the previous two games after Fannin notched his first two touchdowns of the young season in a Week 3 win over the Panthers. Fannin appears to be behind both Denzel Boston and KC Concepcion in the target pecking order in Cleveland, but remains well ahead of veteran Jerry Jeudy as the third target in the offense. Continued fantasy production likely hinges on the play of quarterback Deshaun Watson, but Fannin appears set to return meaningful fantasy value for managers that invested a middle-round pick on his services this summer. Fannin remains a back-end TE1 ahead of a Week 5 meeting with the Jets on the road.

This comes from Palmer’s pre-Thursday Night Football notes. After sharing the info, he tells readers to “read into that how you want.” Fannin currently leads the team in targets (18), though rookie WRs KC Concepcion (17) and Denzel Boston (15) are right behind him. If Palmer’s report is accurate, Fannin could slip to third in target share as the season progresses, but he remains a very talented player and target earner, deserving of a weekly TE1 ranking. Just file this away for now.

With the Panthers working overtime to keep Deshaun Watson underneath and the washed quarterback happily obliging, Fannin doubled his season receptions total while scoring his first two touchdowns. Score No. 1 was a fourth down crosser where Fannin got free at the back end of the end zone. No. 2 was a scramble drill where the quarterback bought time and again found Fannin in the painted area. Although the yardage total remained modest, it was nice to see Fannin prove pop-up efforts will still be possible for him in this underpowered offense. With Watson seemingly growing more short-area focused by the day, Fannin’s target counts might start ticking back upward. He’s a credible TE1 for Week 4 against the Steelers.

Fannin showed signs of life as Deshaun Watson played much better than he did in the season opener against the Jaguars. Running a pass route on 28 of the Browns’ 36 drop backs, Fannin was tied for second in targets among Cleveland pass catchers. Watson’s check-down tendencies — he had a 3.6 aDOT against Tampa — could keep Fannin alive for PPR purposes in Week 3 against the Panthers. He likely won’t be a top-12 option though.

Fannin told reporters that he underwent offseason surgery that was related to the groin injury he suffered at the end of his rookie season. It took him “six to 10 weeks” to get fully cleared, causing him to miss the offseason program. As a full participant to start camp, Fannin should not be bothered by the groin issue in his second season. Coming off a 100-target rookie season, he sits in the middle of the TE1 ranks in early drafts.

Per Jackson, organized team activities and mandatory minicamp “offered clues” about Monken’s use of motion and how he plans to “hunt mismatches in the quick passing game and use misdirection to create space and passing lanes for the quarterback.” That said, Jackson also believes that either TE Harold Fannin or fellow rookie WR Denzel Boston will be the “leading receiver.” It remains to be seen whether Monken will actually dial up a high target volume for an X-receiver like Boston. He featured WR Zay Flowers, who Concepcion has been likened to, as the top target-earning wide receiver with the Ravens. If Concepcion only gets a few designed looks per game, it will be tough for him to produce reliably in fantasy. If he can be more than that, even while earning targets behind Fannin while Boston stretches the field, Concepcion can return FLEX value in his first season.

This means that Fannin missed all of organized team activities and mandatory minicamp, which is slightly concerning. Fannin’s only injury, on record, is the groin injury he suffered during a Week 17 practice, which limited him to less than one quarter of play through the season’s final two weeks. We hope to get word on whatever is ailing him by the time training camp rolls around. For what it’s worth, Jackson seemed unbothered by Fannin’s absence and expects him to compete for the No. 1 pass-catcher role. We do, too. He has decent odds of winning the role.

Njoku, 29, will become a free agent once the 2025 season officially ends. In order for him to do so, he will likely have to sign a team-friendly deal, placing him firmly in the No. 2 spot behind breakout rookie TE Harold Fannin, who supplanted Njoku outright this season. Njoku was the subject of trade rumors earlier this year, but nothing came to fruition. Njoku exuberantly celebrated the outcome despite his diminishing role. Were he to remain in Cleveland, he would not be on the fantasy TE1 radar in 2026.

He didn’t practice all week. Fannin had a wildly successful rookie season, pushing David Njoku out of his role down the stretch despite dealing with a groin injury in Week 17 that knocked him out of action after a touchdown catch. He’ll likely be in the top-seven tight ends for 2026 re-draft. Fannin finished his rookie season with 72 catches for 731 yards and six scores on 107 targets. It would help Fannin out a lot if the Browns could develop an offensive plan that moved beyond “having to run the ball a lot to protect their quarterback” this offseason.