Harold Fannin held to 1/4 in rainy loss to Jets

That was a career high in both catches and yards for the tight end. Fannin was really the only receiver to get anything going on a day when the Browns still threw for 326 yards. Fannin had a really nice catch-and-run in the fourth quarter where he broke two tackles but was unfortunately forced out at the one-yard line, so it could have been a much bigger day. He played 57 of the team’s 67 snaps and ran a route on 41 of their 49 dropbacks. It was an elite role, but the Browns were also trailing for the entire game, which certainly impacted the game plan and game script. With the Saints on tap for next week, we could see something similar, though.

It was the first fantasy-relevant stat line for Fannin in quite some time. Headed into Week 7, he had not exceeded 60 receiving yards and had just two games with more than three catches. Against the Titans, Fannin ran a pass route on nearly every Cleveland drop back and had the most crucial play of the game — a fourth quarter 36-yard catch and run that put the Browns in field goal range to secure the win. Fannin, who has been targeted on a fairly low 17 percent of his routes this season, should be playable next week against the Steelers.

After being held to one catch for four yards in last week’s loss to the Jets in rainy conditions, Fannin was again held to one catch while seeing only three targets. The second-year tight end has been an early disappointment for fantasy managers this season and has a 2-13-0 line on seven targets over the last two weeks. Playing in a lousy offense that saw its quarterback sacked five times certainly doesn’t do anything to help his weekly upside, but nobody ever expected it to look quite this bad. Fannin does have a few good games on his resumé this season, and with four teams on bye in Week 7, he could be in the conversation as a low-end TE1 next week against the Titans.

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 only saw three targets on the day, catching his first pass towards the end of the third quarter. It was a bafflingly low level of usage for the 22-year-old tight end, who was heavily involved last year. Some of it may have to do with Deshaun Watson helming the offense; the Browns struggled to move the ball for much of the day. Fannin is still the primary receiving tight end, but he will have to fight KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston for what little high-leverage targets this offense can muster. We cannot discount his TE1-level rookie season just yet, Fannin is a low-end TE1 for Week 2 against the Buccaneers.

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.