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TE Harold Fannin Jr., CLE (8 Viewers)


117-1555 and almost 10 TDs last year, he went double digit on TDs his Freshman and Sophomore Seasons
I've never hear dof a TE catch 117 balls in one season, remarkable
and he was among the youngest players in the draft. He just turned 21 a month ago. Like Brock Bowers before him, he was a factor on the ground as well. He had 5 rushing TDs in college. I know he played in MAC but that aside, he kind of had one of the best TE careers in college history. Almost Brock Bowers level good. He showed up in the big games too. 11/137/1 against Penn State. 8/145/1 against Texas A&M. 17/213 in the bowl game. PFF had him as the highest graded player in college football last year. I wonder how much higher he would have gone if he wasn't duck footed. It's really strange to see his gait but you can not argue with the results.
That duck footed gait ye mention is bizarre
 
There's a clear risk with Fannin. It's far from certain whether a future HC would play Fannin pretty much full-time in what amounts to an H-Back position like Stefanski is doing right now. As soon as they get another decent WR, Fannin could very well play less snaps in the role he's in now or as more of a traditional TE as a backup. I could've missed it, but I didn't see him line up in-line once.

Fannin wasn't a popular FF pick, but he went 3.3 in the NFL draft so he's no slouch. That said, he's one of those guys who could have value one day, then poof. Fannin is good at what he does, but he's your classic tweener and those guys can have trouble having lasting production. Eventually, I believe Fannin will need to make it in more of a traditional TE role if he's going to be a FF stud. Whether he can do that remains to be seen.

If you told me Stefanski will always be there, I'd be more optimistic, but only to a degree. All it might take for Fannin to lose his current role is for them to draft a day-2 WR. I think he's a decent 2nd round rookie pick (ideally, 3rd round) and hope for the best.

This comes with the caveat that Fannin has enough talent to hit, but there's some dynamics involved that aren't there for other top, young TE prospects.
Jim Jensen carved a career in Miami as an H-Back
Oh, I definitely think Fannin can have a good career.

I like him...just saying he could easily end up being more of a valuable NFL player as opposed to an FF producer.
You are right in the sense that there aren’t many productive long term 6’3” 240 lb players in the league. Obviously you have Derrick Henry, but from a tight end perspective there is Jonnu smith and chig okonkwo who hit those size metrics. I always felt the in line tight ends that clear 6’4” and 245-250 are the sweet spot for longevity in the NFL.

That said there’s nothing wrong with him being used like an athlete like Percy Harvin but yesterday the browns got 15 receptions out of their round 3 and 4 rookies which is preposterous and unbelievable to me as I type it out
This cold water does make sense, hate to say it. However, I then look at Brock Bowers measurables and I see 6'3" 243 and I think hmmm...
There's a huge jump in athleticism with Bowers, though. Probably quite a bit of a difference in functional strength, as well.
Yeah Bowers is faster, we know that. Not sure about strength, hard to say. Fannin trucked the absolute **** out of a LB Sunday.
 
There's a clear risk with Fannin. It's far from certain whether a future HC would play Fannin pretty much full-time in what amounts to an H-Back position like Stefanski is doing right now. As soon as they get another decent WR, Fannin could very well play less snaps in the role he's in now or as more of a traditional TE as a backup. I could've missed it, but I didn't see him line up in-line once.

Fannin wasn't a popular FF pick, but he went 3.3 in the NFL draft so he's no slouch. That said, he's one of those guys who could have value one day, then poof. Fannin is good at what he does, but he's your classic tweener and those guys can have trouble having lasting production. Eventually, I believe Fannin will need to make it in more of a traditional TE role if he's going to be a FF stud. Whether he can do that remains to be seen.

If you told me Stefanski will always be there, I'd be more optimistic, but only to a degree. All it might take for Fannin to lose his current role is for them to draft a day-2 WR. I think he's a decent 2nd round rookie pick (ideally, 3rd round) and hope for the best.

This comes with the caveat that Fannin has enough talent to hit, but there's some dynamics involved that aren't there for other top, young TE prospects.
Jim Jensen carved a career in Miami as an H-Back
Oh, I definitely think Fannin can have a good career.

I like him...just saying he could easily end up being more of a valuable NFL player as opposed to an FF producer.
You are right in the sense that there aren’t many productive long term 6’3” 240 lb players in the league. Obviously you have Derrick Henry, but from a tight end perspective there is Jonnu smith and chig okonkwo who hit those size metrics. I always felt the in line tight ends that clear 6’4” and 245-250 are the sweet spot for longevity in the NFL.

That said there’s nothing wrong with him being used like an athlete like Percy Harvin but yesterday the browns got 15 receptions out of their round 3 and 4 rookies which is preposterous and unbelievable to me as I type it out
This cold water does make sense, hate to say it. However, I then look at Brock Bowers measurables and I see 6'3" 243 and I think hmmm...
There's a huge jump in athleticism with Bowers, though. Probably quite a bit of a difference in functional strength, as well.
Yeah Bowers is faster, we know that. Not sure about strength, hard to say. Fannin trucked the absolute **** out of a LB Sunday.
He's a good prospect. Just maybe not the best long-term magic football prospect.

I would've taken Fannin in my rookie draft had he fallen far enough, but I'd look to flip for profit as much as I'd look to hold and hope. His week 1 production is good news for the flipping strategy. That said, holding is a viable strategy, but Fannin is trying to fit into a niche that doesn't have a high hit rate in FF.

We'll know more in the coming weeks, but I'd still be leery of Fannin's value dropping in the future due to no fault of his own.
 
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One thing to note regarding his athleticism.

I am pretty sure his RAS score on MathBomb (ras.foootball) is wrong. I believe he ran a 1.56 second 10 yard and not the 1.66 second 10 yard dash that MathBomb has him recorded as running at the combine. I think this changes his RAS score from 7.67 to 8.32. His long speed is not great but he does have short area quickness. I believe the rest of his entries on that website are correct.
 
Everybody commenting in here that he is coach-specific is spot on.

One question: Name me a TE who isn't other than Bowers? And before you even say Bowers, check out his snap counts and where he was aligned yesterday. Carroll had him off the line and is on record as saying that Mayer is his other TE1.

Now look at Juwan Johnson yesterday.

My point is that every single TE is coach and QB-specific. That's my counterpoint. Not that the Fannin criticisms are wrong—but that those criticisms don't note that they extend to the entire TE position as we know it for fantasy.
 
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Harold Fannin reminds me of Marques Colston situation in his rookie year. Listed as a TE officially, but being used more like a WR
Marques Colston was listed as a Tight End in college and in some fantasy football circles because of his large frame (6-foot-4, 225-pounds) and catching ability, which led scouts to see him as a potential NFL tight end, despite playing wide receiver in the NFL. His "tweener" status—not quite fast enough for a typical wide receiver but possessing the attributes of a tight end—made him a unique prospect and a valuable asset in fantasy football leagues that allowed for position flexibility

For reference Colston was listed as a TE in college. He was initially listed as a TE in the NFL (And on Yahoo), but ultimately played WR in the NFL. He was 6'4" 225 lbs (Harold Fannin 6'3' 240lbs)

In his rookie year Colston had

70 receptions
1038 yards
8 tds
 
Harold Fannin reminds me of Marques Colston situation in his rookie year. Listed as a TE officially, but being used more like a WR
Marques Colston was listed as a Tight End in college and in some fantasy football circles because of his large frame (6-foot-4, 225-pounds) and catching ability, which led scouts to see him as a potential NFL tight end, despite playing wide receiver in the NFL. His "tweener" status—not quite fast enough for a typical wide receiver but possessing the attributes of a tight end—made him a unique prospect and a valuable asset in fantasy football leagues that allowed for position flexibility

For reference Colston was listed as a TE in college. He was initially listed as a TE in the NFL (And on Yahoo), but ultimately played WR in the NFL. He was 6'4" 225 lbs (Harold Fannin 6'3' 240lbs)

In his rookie year Colston had

70 receptions
1038 yards
8 tds
I won a title that year. It was when there were still real sleeper and an edge to be had. Colston was probably one of my last picks in the draft and he starts all year at TE for me. Was a cheat code.
 
Harold Fannin reminds me of Marques Colston situation in his rookie year. Listed as a TE officially, but being used more like a WR
Marques Colston was listed as a Tight End in college and in some fantasy football circles because of his large frame (6-foot-4, 225-pounds) and catching ability, which led scouts to see him as a potential NFL tight end, despite playing wide receiver in the NFL. His "tweener" status—not quite fast enough for a typical wide receiver but possessing the attributes of a tight end—made him a unique prospect and a valuable asset in fantasy football leagues that allowed for position flexibility

For reference Colston was listed as a TE in college. He was initially listed as a TE in the NFL (And on Yahoo), but ultimately played WR in the NFL. He was 6'4" 225 lbs (Harold Fannin 6'3' 240lbs)

In his rookie year Colston had

70 receptions
1038 yards
8 tds
I won a title that year. It was when there were still real sleeper and an edge to be had. Colston was probably one of my last picks in the draft and he starts all year at TE for me. Was a cheat code.
Awesome !! Yeah those were the days when research still really gave you a big edge, and that position advantage was huge. The guy who had Colston that year in my league won too
 
He's a good prospect. Just maybe not the best long-term magic football prospect.
CLE looks like they are all in on the Fannin Experience, and if that's the way they used him in Week freaking' 1, then I think I am at the opposite end of the room on your take.

Rookie TEs are notoriously slow to develop, this guy's a 3rd round pick, and it looks like they built their offense around him from the start.
 
He's a good prospect. Just maybe not the best long-term magic football prospect.
CLE looks like they are all in on the Fannin Experience, and if that's the way they used him in Week freaking' 1, then I think I am at the opposite end of the room on your take.

Rookie TEs are notoriously slow to develop, this guy's a 3rd round pick, and it looks like they built their offense around him from the start.
Not to mention the Browns traded up in the 3rd to grab him when he was on EVERY teams radar as an immediate impact guy .. He’s a special receiving talent.
 
Harold Fannin reminds me of Marques Colston situation in his rookie year. Listed as a TE officially, but being used more like a WR
Marques Colston was listed as a Tight End in college and in some fantasy football circles because of his large frame (6-foot-4, 225-pounds) and catching ability, which led scouts to see him as a potential NFL tight end, despite playing wide receiver in the NFL. His "tweener" status—not quite fast enough for a typical wide receiver but possessing the attributes of a tight end—made him a unique prospect and a valuable asset in fantasy football leagues that allowed for position flexibility

For reference Colston was listed as a TE in college. He was initially listed as a TE in the NFL (And on Yahoo), but ultimately played WR in the NFL. He was 6'4" 225 lbs (Harold Fannin 6'3' 240lbs)

In his rookie year Colston had

70 receptions
1038 yards
8 tds
the funnest scam ever, I wonder how many yahoo leagues he won that year
 
He's a good prospect. Just maybe not the best long-term magic football prospect.
CLE looks like they are all in on the Fannin Experience, and if that's the way they used him in Week freaking' 1, then I think I am at the opposite end of the room on your take.

Rookie TEs are notoriously slow to develop, this guy's a 3rd round pick, and it looks like they built their offense around him from the start.
Honestly, this is the week you reach for ceiling.

It's a crappy week all around on waivers and who knows, this guy looks like a chess piece.

He has standalone value now for sure and if Njoku gets hurt or traded, his value goes roof.

Is it unlikely that he's this year's B. Bowers? Probably.

Is there a non-zero chance he may be? Maybe.

Even in leagues where I don't need a TE I am prioritizing him. The upside is just too big.
 
In dynasty league (start 1 TE, non premium) where I own Pitts, Taylor, Theo Johnson, Henry, Gadsden and T Ferguson

I'm bidding 48% of my FFAB on him (dropping Theo)

Gotta get in on the action I love what i saw and TE's usually don't come out like this, with a game plan already in place for them and have immediate success

All in (got him in 3 of my other 5 dynos)
 
In dynasty league (start 1 TE, non premium) where I own Pitts, Taylor, Theo Johnson, Henry, Gadsden and T Ferguson

I'm bidding 48% of my FFAB on him (dropping Theo)

Gotta get in on the action I love what i saw and TE's usually don't come out like this, with a game plan already in place for them and have immediate success

All in (got him in 3 of my other 5 dynos)
Would you be aggressive in traditional redraft leagues? I have a hard time trying to buy into a TE2 on a bad O on paper but I love everything I have read so far.
 
In dynasty league (start 1 TE, non premium) where I own Pitts, Taylor, Theo Johnson, Henry, Gadsden and T Ferguson

I'm bidding 48% of my FFAB on him (dropping Theo)

Gotta get in on the action I love what i saw and TE's usually don't come out like this, with a game plan already in place for them and have immediate success

All in (got him in 3 of my other 5 dynos)
Would you be aggressive in traditional redraft leagues? I have a hard time trying to buy into a TE2 on a bad O on paper but I love everything I have read so far.
League dependent, but in a 12 teamer and say I just lost Kittle 100%, if I got a fringe guy maybe w Kraft even as a starter, I might hedge to pick him up too. Seems he will get targets, but obviously its just a one game sample.
 
Would you be aggressive in traditional redraft leagues? I have a hard time trying to buy into a TE2 on a bad O on paper but I love everything I have read so far.
How you feel about Tyler Warren?

I am not for sure that Warren is going to have more volume than Fannin the rest of the year. Wouldn't surprise me if they score similarly.
 
Didn’t I Likely have a huge week 1 last year, only to come back to reality almost immediately?
Yes, however I don't remember Likely being used like Fannin was (lining up as a WR, taking a wildcat snap, etc). I think the Browns are telegraphing Fannin's usage as more than "just" a TE.
 
He's a good prospect. Just maybe not the best long-term magic football prospect.
CLE looks like they are all in on the Fannin Experience, and if that's the way they used him in Week freaking' 1, then I think I am at the opposite end of the room on your take.

Rookie TEs are notoriously slow to develop, this guy's a 3rd round pick, and it looks like they built their offense around him from the start.
Built their offense around him? An H-Back? That’s a monumental stretch. My perspective is obviously in dynasty, but ride him out in redraft for sure.

In dynasty, Fannin just has too much going against him to be too confident in anything long-term. He’s your classic here today/gone tomorrow risk (at least as far as a strong FF asset).
 
He's a good prospect. Just maybe not the best long-term magic football prospect.
CLE looks like they are all in on the Fannin Experience, and if that's the way they used him in Week freaking' 1, then I think I am at the opposite end of the room on your take.

Rookie TEs are notoriously slow to develop, this guy's a 3rd round pick, and it looks like they built their offense around him from the start.
Built their offense around him? An H-Back? That’s a monumental stretch. My perspective is obviously in dynasty, but ride him out in redraft for sure.

In dynasty, Fannin just has too much going against him to be too confident in anything long-term. He’s your classic here today/gone tomorrow risk (at least as far as a strong FF asset).

There isn't a sure fire TE asset. They're all dependent upon their coach and QB. It's really that simple. From O.J. Howard to Kyle Pitts. There isn't one of them that's immune. Some of the fan boys that were razzing Nathan Jahnke about downgrading Bowers all summer were awfully quiet when they saw Pete's snap counts in the first half.

You spend your whole life looking for a unicorn like Gronkowski and you'll never find anything. The thing is that dynasty and fantasy usefulness is at odds with NFL usefulness for the position. They're in constant tension. If you're athletic and lined up out wide, a coach would rather you be a WR. If you can block like an OL, the coach keeps you in to do so and your fantasy score stinks. There's really nobody I've seen that gets around this but Gronk or Kittle and his unicorn coach.

At some point, you either punt the position or you don't.
 
He's a good prospect. Just maybe not the best long-term magic football prospect.
CLE looks like they are all in on the Fannin Experience, and if that's the way they used him in Week freaking' 1, then I think I am at the opposite end of the room on your take.

Rookie TEs are notoriously slow to develop, this guy's a 3rd round pick, and it looks like they built their offense around him from the start.
Built their offense around him? An H-Back? That’s a monumental stretch. My perspective is obviously in dynasty, but ride him out in redraft for sure.

In dynasty, Fannin just has too much going against him to be too confident in anything long-term. He’s your classic here today/gone tomorrow risk (at least as far as a strong FF asset).

There isn't a sure fire TE asset. They're all dependent upon their coach and QB. It's really that simple. From O.J. Howard to Kyle Pitts. There isn't one of them that's immune. Some of the fan boys that were razzing Nathan Jahnke about downgrading Bowers all summer were awfully quiet when they saw Pete's snap counts in the first half.

You spend your whole life looking for a unicorn like Gronkowski and you'll never find anything. The thing is that dynasty and fantasy usefulness is at odds with NFL usefulness for the position. They're in constant tension. If you're athletic and lined up out wide, a coach would rather you be a WR. If you can block like an OL, the coach keeps you in to do so and your fantasy score stinks. There's really nobody I've seen that gets around this but Gronk or Kittle and his unicorn coach.

At some point, you either punt the position or you don't.
Side note, I noticed Bowers’ snap count, but thought it was due to getting dinged (knee).

What was his usage like before the injury?
 
He's a good prospect. Just maybe not the best long-term magic football prospect.
CLE looks like they are all in on the Fannin Experience, and if that's the way they used him in Week freaking' 1, then I think I am at the opposite end of the room on your take.

Rookie TEs are notoriously slow to develop, this guy's a 3rd round pick, and it looks like they built their offense around him from the start.
Built their offense around him? An H-Back? That’s a monumental stretch. My perspective is obviously in dynasty, but ride him out in redraft for sure.

In dynasty, Fannin just has too much going against him to be too confident in anything long-term. He’s your classic here today/gone tomorrow risk (at least as far as a strong FF asset).

There isn't a sure fire TE asset. They're all dependent upon their coach and QB. It's really that simple. From O.J. Howard to Kyle Pitts. There isn't one of them that's immune. Some of the fan boys that were razzing Nathan Jahnke about downgrading Bowers all summer were awfully quiet when they saw Pete's snap counts in the first half.

You spend your whole life looking for a unicorn like Gronkowski and you'll never find anything. The thing is that dynasty and fantasy usefulness is at odds with NFL usefulness for the position. They're in constant tension. If you're athletic and lined up out wide, a coach would rather you be a WR. If you can block like an OL, the coach keeps you in to do so and your fantasy score stinks. There's really nobody I've seen that gets around this but Gronk or Kittle and his unicorn coach.

At some point, you either punt the position or you don't.
Side note, I noticed Bowers’ snap count, but thought it was due to getting dinged (knee).

What was his usage like before the injury?

Not good. I think it actually increased as the game went on but you could tell the guys that were mouthing off all summer were getting totally tight. Like I'd always thought that they were probably right but the certitude grated on me a bit. Jahnke had his reasons, you know? And he's a fine analyst even if he doesn't always get everything.

So yeah, at one point Mayer was outsnapping him pretty decently. Nothing criminal, but Pete obviously had Mayer in the game more and Bowers was either running routes or coming off the field when he wasn't, which is suboptimal (although you want your TEs on your fantasy team running tons of routes) and I was sort of laughing to myself. I commented on one the guys' timelines and he very fairly told me he wasn't taking the L for a half of play even though he was more than willing to take Ls publicly. I said that sounded really fair but maybe things were less sure right now than they had seemed a month ago.

I think Bowers will be okay so we'll see what Carroll will do in the upcoming months. But he specifically said he has "two TE ones" and that they'll be used that way. So whatever that means, it means, but it tells me even the greatest physical TE specimen we've seen in a decade is subject to coaching whims as far as fantasy output goes.
 
He's a good prospect. Just maybe not the best long-term magic football prospect.
CLE looks like they are all in on the Fannin Experience, and if that's the way they used him in Week freaking' 1, then I think I am at the opposite end of the room on your take.

Rookie TEs are notoriously slow to develop, this guy's a 3rd round pick, and it looks like they built their offense around him from the start.
Built their offense around him? An H-Back? That’s a monumental stretch. My perspective is obviously in dynasty, but ride him out in redraft for sure.

In dynasty, Fannin just has too much going against him to be too confident in anything long-term. He’s your classic here today/gone tomorrow risk (at least as far as a strong FF asset).

There isn't a sure fire TE asset. They're all dependent upon their coach and QB. It's really that simple. From O.J. Howard to Kyle Pitts. There isn't one of them that's immune. Some of the fan boys that were razzing Nathan Jahnke about downgrading Bowers all summer were awfully quiet when they saw Pete's snap counts in the first half.

You spend your whole life looking for a unicorn like Gronkowski and you'll never find anything. The thing is that dynasty and fantasy usefulness is at odds with NFL usefulness for the position. They're in constant tension. If you're athletic and lined up out wide, a coach would rather you be a WR. If you can block like an OL, the coach keeps you in to do so and your fantasy score stinks. There's really nobody I've seen that gets around this but Gronk or Kittle and his unicorn coach.

At some point, you either punt the position or you don't.
Side note, I noticed Bowers’ snap count, but thought it was due to getting dinged (knee).

What was his usage like before the injury?

Not good. I think it actually increased as the game went on but you could tell the guys that were mouthing off all summer were getting totally tight. Like I'd always thought that they were probably right but the certitude grated on me a bit. Jahnke had his reasons, you know? And he's a fine analyst even if he doesn't always get everything.

So yeah, at one point Mayer was outsnapping him pretty decently. Nothing criminal, but Pete obviously had Mayer in the game more and Bowers was either running routes or coming off the field when he wasn't, which is suboptimal (although you want your TEs on your fantasy team running tons of routes) and I was sort of laughing to myself. I commented on one the guys' timelines and he very fairly told me he wasn't taking the L for a half of play even though he was more than willing to take Ls publicly. I said that sounded really fair but maybe things were less sure right now than they had seemed a month ago.

I think Bowers will be okay so we'll see what Carroll will do in the upcoming months. But he specifically said he has "two TE ones" and that they'll be used that way. So whatever that means, it means, but it tells me even the greatest physical TE specimen we've seen in a decade is subject to coaching whims as far as fantasy output goes.
Interesting.

Totally agree and pretty much my reasoning with a tweener like Fannin (and Bowers is much less of a tweener, IMO). Superb athletes like Bowers have traits where they can partially overcome blocking/size/strength issues with athleticism. Fannin is a so-so athlete. I'm not sure I totally agree with it, but he was labeled a little stiff by some scouts I respect. Biggest point is Fannin isn't nearly the athlete Bowers is.
 
Fannin is a bit of an odd-ball athlete, so I understand the hesitation. What he does well is move laterally to separate and catch the ball. So if used properly he can get open and catch the ball. Just comes down to how he is used, week one went well. Waldman breaks this down in his Gut Check and shows the positives and negatives depending on how the Browns use him.
 
In dynasty league (start 1 TE, non premium) where I own Pitts, Taylor, Theo Johnson, Henry, Gadsden and T Ferguson

I'm bidding 48% of my FFAB on him (dropping Theo)

Gotta get in on the action I love what i saw and TE's usually don't come out like this, with a game plan already in place for them and have immediate success

All in (got him in 3 of my other 5 dynos)
Would you be aggressive in traditional redraft leagues? I have a hard time trying to buy into a TE2 on a bad O on paper but I love everything I have read so far.
League dependent, but in a 12 teamer and say I just lost Kittle 100%, if I got a fringe guy maybe w Kraft even as a starter, I might hedge to pick him up too. Seems he will get targets, but obviously its just a one game sample.
This is close to the boat I am in. Just lost Kittle in a 10 team dynasty, and Mason Taylor is my only other TE. Fannin is available, but so is Goedert. I plan to go Fannin, just to get in on the action, but the FAAB amount to go with is the question.
 
In dynasty league (start 1 TE, non premium) where I own Pitts, Taylor, Theo Johnson, Henry, Gadsden and T Ferguson

I'm bidding 48% of my FFAB on him (dropping Theo)

Gotta get in on the action I love what i saw and TE's usually don't come out like this, with a game plan already in place for them and have immediate success

All in (got him in 3 of my other 5 dynos)
Would you be aggressive in traditional redraft leagues? I have a hard time trying to buy into a TE2 on a bad O on paper but I love everything I have read so far.
League dependent, but in a 12 teamer and say I just lost Kittle 100%, if I got a fringe guy maybe w Kraft even as a starter, I might hedge to pick him up too. Seems he will get targets, but obviously its just a one game sample.
As someone who lost Kittle, I'm going for Fannin first for ceiling AND one of your "fringe" guys in waivers tonight.

This is only a 10 team league so it's possible that I could get Fannin but then also a B. Strange is still hanging around.
 
In dynasty league (start 1 TE, non premium) where I own Pitts, Taylor, Theo Johnson, Henry, Gadsden and T Ferguson

I'm bidding 48% of my FFAB on him (dropping Theo)

Gotta get in on the action I love what i saw and TE's usually don't come out like this, with a game plan already in place for them and have immediate success

All in (got him in 3 of my other 5 dynos)
Would you be aggressive in traditional redraft leagues? I have a hard time trying to buy into a TE2 on a bad O on paper but I love everything I have read so far.
League dependent, but in a 12 teamer and say I just lost Kittle 100%, if I got a fringe guy maybe w Kraft even as a starter, I might hedge to pick him up too. Seems he will get targets, but obviously its just a one game sample.
This is close to the boat I am in. Just lost Kittle in a 10 team dynasty, and Mason Taylor is my only other TE. Fannin is available, but so is Goedert. I plan to go Fannin, just to get in on the action, but the FAAB amount to go with is the question.
My brother are I are going 51% in a league with nothing on the waiver wire. The only two players worth picking up other than streaming a defense this week are

Harold Fannin, and Juwan Johnson

We also have Bowers so we are in need
 
He's a good prospect. Just maybe not the best long-term magic football prospect.
CLE looks like they are all in on the Fannin Experience, and if that's the way they used him in Week freaking' 1, then I think I am at the opposite end of the room on your take.

Rookie TEs are notoriously slow to develop, this guy's a 3rd round pick, and it looks like they built their offense around him from the start.
Built their offense around him? An H-Back? That’s a monumental stretch. My perspective is obviously in dynasty, but ride him out in redraft for sure.

In dynasty, Fannin just has too much going against him to be too confident in anything long-term. He’s your classic here today/gone tomorrow risk (at least as far as a strong FF asset).

There isn't a sure fire TE asset. They're all dependent upon their coach and QB. It's really that simple. From O.J. Howard to Kyle Pitts. There isn't one of them that's immune. Some of the fan boys that were razzing Nathan Jahnke about downgrading Bowers all summer were awfully quiet when they saw Pete's snap counts in the first half.

You spend your whole life looking for a unicorn like Gronkowski and you'll never find anything. The thing is that dynasty and fantasy usefulness is at odds with NFL usefulness for the position. They're in constant tension. If you're athletic and lined up out wide, a coach would rather you be a WR. If you can block like an OL, the coach keeps you in to do so and your fantasy score stinks. There's really nobody I've seen that gets around this but Gronk or Kittle and his unicorn coach.

At some point, you either punt the position or you don't.
Side note, I noticed Bowers’ snap count, but thought it was due to getting dinged (knee).

What was his usage like before the injury?

Not good. I think it actually increased as the game went on but you could tell the guys that were mouthing off all summer were getting totally tight. Like I'd always thought that they were probably right but the certitude grated on me a bit. Jahnke had his reasons, you know? And he's a fine analyst even if he doesn't always get everything.

So yeah, at one point Mayer was outsnapping him pretty decently. Nothing criminal, but Pete obviously had Mayer in the game more and Bowers was either running routes or coming off the field when he wasn't, which is suboptimal (although you want your TEs on your fantasy team running tons of routes) and I was sort of laughing to myself. I commented on one the guys' timelines and he very fairly told me he wasn't taking the L for a half of play even though he was more than willing to take Ls publicly. I said that sounded really fair but maybe things were less sure right now than they had seemed a month ago.

I think Bowers will be okay so we'll see what Carroll will do in the upcoming months. But he specifically said he has "two TE ones" and that they'll be used that way. So whatever that means, it means, but it tells me even the greatest physical TE specimen we've seen in a decade is subject to coaching whims as far as fantasy output goes.
Interesting.

Totally agree and pretty much my reasoning with a tweener like Fannin (and Bowers is much less of a tweener, IMO). Superb athletes like Bowers have traits where they can partially overcome blocking/size/strength issues with athleticism. Fannin is a so-so athlete. I'm not sure I totally agree with it, but he was labeled a little stiff by some scouts I respect. Biggest point is Fannin isn't nearly the athlete Bowers is.

Oh yeah, I knew what point you were making, which is why I brought up O.J. Howard. He tested much better than Bowers, who actually did not test at the combine but ran at a pro day. Bowers's scouting report at NFL.com, despite common understanding to the contrary, actually criticizes him for not being a top-notch explosive athlete. Seriously. And while Bowers's pro day is impressive, and his RAS is likely better than Fannin's 7.66 score by a good deal, it's not better than O.J. Howard and a couple of other notables. And RAS doesn't always translate into TE fantasy success. Having a RAS over 8.8 to 9.9 is correlated with top ten fantasy finishes, but it's not ironclad nor totally strong. Shannon Sharpe and Mark Andrews have worse scores than Fannin. Tony Gonzalez beats Fannin by only .5 or so, and he had only a 8.12 RAS. Trey McBride's RAS was a 8.02 or something around there. And Fannin gets dinged for his size more than his speed scores or his agility.

PFF had their own model and ranked Fannin third even with his RAS score and taking into account his level of competition. Every football measure that PFF has saw Fannin in the 99th percentile of all TEs, so you have to wonder whether his size (and that's what his RAS suffers from) dings him as an athlete. It dings him relative to the size of the other guys at his position, but he's really an undersized TE.

So I think your premise is only half correct. I don't really have a ton invested in Fannin, but give me him at 5.01 of a draft rather than Bowers at 1.03 any day and twice on Sunday. That's my personal experience and take on the whole thing.
 
He's a good prospect. Just maybe not the best long-term magic football prospect.
CLE looks like they are all in on the Fannin Experience, and if that's the way they used him in Week freaking' 1, then I think I am at the opposite end of the room on your take.

Rookie TEs are notoriously slow to develop, this guy's a 3rd round pick, and it looks like they built their offense around him from the start.
Built their offense around him? An H-Back? That’s a monumental stretch. My perspective is obviously in dynasty, but ride him out in redraft for sure.

In dynasty, Fannin just has too much going against him to be too confident in anything long-term. He’s your classic here today/gone tomorrow risk (at least as far as a strong FF asset).

There isn't a sure fire TE asset. They're all dependent upon their coach and QB. It's really that simple. From O.J. Howard to Kyle Pitts. There isn't one of them that's immune. Some of the fan boys that were razzing Nathan Jahnke about downgrading Bowers all summer were awfully quiet when they saw Pete's snap counts in the first half.

You spend your whole life looking for a unicorn like Gronkowski and you'll never find anything. The thing is that dynasty and fantasy usefulness is at odds with NFL usefulness for the position. They're in constant tension. If you're athletic and lined up out wide, a coach would rather you be a WR. If you can block like an OL, the coach keeps you in to do so and your fantasy score stinks. There's really nobody I've seen that gets around this but Gronk or Kittle and his unicorn coach.

At some point, you either punt the position or you don't.
Side note, I noticed Bowers’ snap count, but thought it was due to getting dinged (knee).

What was his usage like before the injury?

Not good. I think it actually increased as the game went on but you could tell the guys that were mouthing off all summer were getting totally tight. Like I'd always thought that they were probably right but the certitude grated on me a bit. Jahnke had his reasons, you know? And he's a fine analyst even if he doesn't always get everything.

So yeah, at one point Mayer was outsnapping him pretty decently. Nothing criminal, but Pete obviously had Mayer in the game more and Bowers was either running routes or coming off the field when he wasn't, which is suboptimal (although you want your TEs on your fantasy team running tons of routes) and I was sort of laughing to myself. I commented on one the guys' timelines and he very fairly told me he wasn't taking the L for a half of play even though he was more than willing to take Ls publicly. I said that sounded really fair but maybe things were less sure right now than they had seemed a month ago.

I think Bowers will be okay so we'll see what Carroll will do in the upcoming months. But he specifically said he has "two TE ones" and that they'll be used that way. So whatever that means, it means, but it tells me even the greatest physical TE specimen we've seen in a decade is subject to coaching whims as far as fantasy output goes.
Interesting.

Totally agree and pretty much my reasoning with a tweener like Fannin (and Bowers is much less of a tweener, IMO). Superb athletes like Bowers have traits where they can partially overcome blocking/size/strength issues with athleticism. Fannin is a so-so athlete. I'm not sure I totally agree with it, but he was labeled a little stiff by some scouts I respect. Biggest point is Fannin isn't nearly the athlete Bowers is.

Oh yeah, I knew what point you were making, which is why I brought up O.J. Howard. He tested much better than Bowers, who actually did not test at the combine but ran at a pro day. Bowers's scouting report at NFL.com, despite common understanding to the contrary, actually criticizes him for not being a top-notch explosive athlete. Seriously. And while Bowers's pro day is impressive, and his RAS is likely better than Fannin's 7.66 score by a good deal, it's not better than O.J. Howard and a couple of other notables. And RAS doesn't always translate into TE fantasy success. Having a RAS over 8.8 to 9.9 is correlated with top ten fantasy finishes, but it's not ironclad nor totally strong. Shannon Sharpe and Mark Andrews have worse scores than Fannin. Tony Gonzalez beats Fannin by only .5 or so, and he had only a 8.12 RAS. Trey McBride's RAS was a 8.02 or something around there. And Fannin gets dinged for his size more than his speed scores or his agility.

PFF had their own model and ranked Fannin third even with his RAS score and taking into account his level of competition. Every football measure that PFF has saw Fannin in the 99th percentile of all TEs, so you have to wonder whether his size (and that's what his RAS suffers from) dings him as an athlete. It dings him relative to the size of the other guys at his position, but he's really an undersized TE.

So I think your premise is only half correct. I don't really have a ton invested in Fannin, but give me him at 5.01 of a draft rather than Bowers at 1.03 any day and twice on Sunday. That's my personal experience and take on the whole thing.
Ok, I misunderstood some of your post, but agreed with much of it. Bowers didn't test, but he looks like an outstanding functional athlete. I once saw him explode into the air, catch the ball, twist back around to get going in the right direction, land on one foot, and keep going.

I prefer Bowers by quite a bit, even at his ADP, but even he's fighting a little bit of the tweener stuff with Pete seems like.
 
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In dynasty, Fannin just has too much going against him to be too confident in anything long-term. He’s your classic here today/gone tomorrow risk (at least as far as a strong FF asset).
I don't think there's anything going against him.

He's not a physical outlier, he's just not ideal. His measurements are all within the ranges that move TEs can succeed. He's not blazing fast, but he is clearly fast enough. He's not tall, but he ain't short, and he's too light to block, well OK fine, I don't get points for blocking. Aaron Hernandez is an example. There are minimums that players almost HAVE TO reach to be decent. But once a player is at those minimums, now it becomes about actual football skill, work ethic, etc. There are better athletes that fail every single year.

Quentin Johnston and Ladd McConkey are the same age. But Ladd has more upside, because he's a better football player. Elijah Arroyo is not more likely to succeed because he's a better athlete than Fannin.
 
Just to add a little perspective here. One of my good friends lives in Cleveland and I've not known a more passionate fan of a team in my life. He was at several practices would never shut up about Fannin. I was a huge fan of Njoku leading up to the draft, but he told me every time we talked that Fannin is who the coaches are designing targets for and very high on. After leading the team with 9 targets in week 1 of his rookie season - my man knows his team.

All that to say, I have reason to believe this is not a fluke. Had 1,555 yards receiving in his Junior season which is insane production. The combine did him no favors, but he has been wildly productive on the field. The ONLY thing that gives me pause would be the fact I don't believe Flacco will be QB1 all season - I think his value would take a hit the second he's catching passes from Gabriel/Sanders.
 
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The ONLY thing that gives me pause would be the fact I don't believe Flacco will be QB1 all season - I think his value would take a hit the second he's catching passes from Gabirel/Sanders.

This is a perfectly legitimate reason to be given pause. If Sanders or Gabriel take over then you have no idea who they're looking for or comfortable with. I hate to keep saying my almost absolutist argument is right, but every TE in the NFL is coach or QB-dependent when it comes to fantasy. It's something has a high degree of variance and luck built into it.

I personally almost always punt the position and take it as serendipity when my low-cost investment pays out. I haven't really been deterred or feel like an argument can be made against that strategy save for Bowers last year and the general maxim that second-round NFL draft picks are the guys to gamble on later in dynasty fantasy drafts. That's about it.
 
In dynasty, Fannin just has too much going against him to be too confident in anything long-term. He’s your classic here today/gone tomorrow risk (at least as far as a strong FF asset).
I don't think there's anything going against him.

He's not a physical outlier, he's just not ideal. His measurements are all within the ranges that move TEs can succeed. He's not blazing fast, but he is clearly fast enough. He's not tall, but he ain't short, and he's too light to block, well OK fine, I don't get points for blocking. Aaron Hernandez is an example. There are minimums that players almost HAVE TO reach to be decent. But once a player is at those minimums, now it becomes about actual football skill, work ethic, etc. There are better athletes that fail every single year.

Quentin Johnston and Ladd McConkey are the same age. But Ladd has more upside, because he's a better football player. Elijah Arroyo is not more likely to succeed because he's a better athlete than Fannin.
The only player I linked to athleticism was Bowers, who has plenty of talent. You're not saying anything we don't already know as far as talent vs. athleticism.

I do like Fannin in redraft, just not as much as some. I even like him in dynasty to a degree. That said, we're not looking at a sure-fire prospect here. Fannin is so far from that he can't even be seen.

Saying Fannin doesn't have anything going against him is a strong statement, lol. It'll be interesting to see where he's at in a year or two.
 
He's a good prospect. Just maybe not the best long-term magic football prospect.
CLE looks like they are all in on the Fannin Experience, and if that's the way they used him in Week freaking' 1, then I think I am at the opposite end of the room on your take.

Rookie TEs are notoriously slow to develop, this guy's a 3rd round pick, and it looks like they built their offense around him from the start.
Built their offense around him? An H-Back? That’s a monumental stretch. My perspective is obviously in dynasty, but ride him out in redraft for sure.

In dynasty, Fannin just has too much going against him to be too confident in anything long-term. He’s your classic here today/gone tomorrow risk (at least as far as a strong FF asset).

There isn't a sure fire TE asset. They're all dependent upon their coach and QB. It's really that simple. From O.J. Howard to Kyle Pitts. There isn't one of them that's immune. Some of the fan boys that were razzing Nathan Jahnke about downgrading Bowers all summer were awfully quiet when they saw Pete's snap counts in the first half.

You spend your whole life looking for a unicorn like Gronkowski and you'll never find anything. The thing is that dynasty and fantasy usefulness is at odds with NFL usefulness for the position. They're in constant tension. If you're athletic and lined up out wide, a coach would rather you be a WR. If you can block like an OL, the coach keeps you in to do so and your fantasy score stinks. There's really nobody I've seen that gets around this but Gronk or Kittle and his unicorn coach.

At some point, you either punt the position or you don't.
Side note, I noticed Bowers’ snap count, but thought it was due to getting dinged (knee).

What was his usage like before the injury?

Not good. I think it actually increased as the game went on but you could tell the guys that were mouthing off all summer were getting totally tight. Like I'd always thought that they were probably right but the certitude grated on me a bit. Jahnke had his reasons, you know? And he's a fine analyst even if he doesn't always get everything.

So yeah, at one point Mayer was outsnapping him pretty decently. Nothing criminal, but Pete obviously had Mayer in the game more and Bowers was either running routes or coming off the field when he wasn't, which is suboptimal (although you want your TEs on your fantasy team running tons of routes) and I was sort of laughing to myself. I commented on one the guys' timelines and he very fairly told me he wasn't taking the L for a half of play even though he was more than willing to take Ls publicly. I said that sounded really fair but maybe things were less sure right now than they had seemed a month ago.

I think Bowers will be okay so we'll see what Carroll will do in the upcoming months. But he specifically said he has "two TE ones" and that they'll be used that way. So whatever that means, it means, but it tells me even the greatest physical TE specimen we've seen in a decade is subject to coaching whims as far as fantasy output goes.
Interesting.

Totally agree and pretty much my reasoning with a tweener like Fannin (and Bowers is much less of a tweener, IMO). Superb athletes like Bowers have traits where they can partially overcome blocking/size/strength issues with athleticism. Fannin is a so-so athlete. I'm not sure I totally agree with it, but he was labeled a little stiff by some scouts I respect. Biggest point is Fannin isn't nearly the athlete Bowers is.

Seriously. And while Bowers's pro day is impressive, and his RAS is likely better than Fannin's 7.66 score by a good deal, it's not better than O.J. Howard and a couple of other notables. And RAS doesn't always translate into TE fantasy success.

Fannin's RAS score is likely greater than 7.66. MathBomb (ras.football) did report him as either a 7.66 or 7.67 but they have his 10 yard dash time as 1.66 seconds. Every other website I looked at online that reported Combine results reported his 10 yard time as 1.56 seconds. Using MathBomb's manual player card calculator, this would bump his RAS core to 8.32 which is actually quite good though still probably not as good as what Bowers would have been had he tested.
 
He's a good prospect. Just maybe not the best long-term magic football prospect.
CLE looks like they are all in on the Fannin Experience, and if that's the way they used him in Week freaking' 1, then I think I am at the opposite end of the room on your take.

Rookie TEs are notoriously slow to develop, this guy's a 3rd round pick, and it looks like they built their offense around him from the start.
Built their offense around him? An H-Back? That’s a monumental stretch. My perspective is obviously in dynasty, but ride him out in redraft for sure.

In dynasty, Fannin just has too much going against him to be too confident in anything long-term. He’s your classic here today/gone tomorrow risk (at least as far as a strong FF asset).

There isn't a sure fire TE asset. They're all dependent upon their coach and QB. It's really that simple. From O.J. Howard to Kyle Pitts. There isn't one of them that's immune. Some of the fan boys that were razzing Nathan Jahnke about downgrading Bowers all summer were awfully quiet when they saw Pete's snap counts in the first half.

You spend your whole life looking for a unicorn like Gronkowski and you'll never find anything. The thing is that dynasty and fantasy usefulness is at odds with NFL usefulness for the position. They're in constant tension. If you're athletic and lined up out wide, a coach would rather you be a WR. If you can block like an OL, the coach keeps you in to do so and your fantasy score stinks. There's really nobody I've seen that gets around this but Gronk or Kittle and his unicorn coach.

At some point, you either punt the position or you don't.
Side note, I noticed Bowers’ snap count, but thought it was due to getting dinged (knee).

What was his usage like before the injury?

Not good. I think it actually increased as the game went on but you could tell the guys that were mouthing off all summer were getting totally tight. Like I'd always thought that they were probably right but the certitude grated on me a bit. Jahnke had his reasons, you know? And he's a fine analyst even if he doesn't always get everything.

So yeah, at one point Mayer was outsnapping him pretty decently. Nothing criminal, but Pete obviously had Mayer in the game more and Bowers was either running routes or coming off the field when he wasn't, which is suboptimal (although you want your TEs on your fantasy team running tons of routes) and I was sort of laughing to myself. I commented on one the guys' timelines and he very fairly told me he wasn't taking the L for a half of play even though he was more than willing to take Ls publicly. I said that sounded really fair but maybe things were less sure right now than they had seemed a month ago.

I think Bowers will be okay so we'll see what Carroll will do in the upcoming months. But he specifically said he has "two TE ones" and that they'll be used that way. So whatever that means, it means, but it tells me even the greatest physical TE specimen we've seen in a decade is subject to coaching whims as far as fantasy output goes.
Interesting.

Totally agree and pretty much my reasoning with a tweener like Fannin (and Bowers is much less of a tweener, IMO). Superb athletes like Bowers have traits where they can partially overcome blocking/size/strength issues with athleticism. Fannin is a so-so athlete. I'm not sure I totally agree with it, but he was labeled a little stiff by some scouts I respect. Biggest point is Fannin isn't nearly the athlete Bowers is.

Seriously. And while Bowers's pro day is impressive, and his RAS is likely better than Fannin's 7.66 score by a good deal, it's not better than O.J. Howard and a couple of other notables. And RAS doesn't always translate into TE fantasy success.

Fannin's RAS score is likely greater than 7.66. MathBomb (ras.football) did report him as either a 7.66 or 7.67 but they have his 10 yard dash time as 1.66 seconds. Every other website I looked at online that reported Combine results reported his 10 yard time as 1.56 seconds. Using MathBomb's manual player card calculator, this would bump his RAS core to 8.32 which is actually quite good though still probably not as good as what Bowers would have been had he tested.

Could indeed be. They've adjusted his RAS score at least three times from what I can tell. It became a story unto itself. It was in the 6 range at one point. I think anything from 6-7 is really trifling at that point because it means he's not a superior athlete regardless. They generally find the correlation to top ten finishes starts at 8.8 because that's when the physical prowess and measurements start to make a difference. Anything below 5 is probably rare for Pro Bowl and All-Pro guys, and I noticed it was. The guys under 5 that went to the Pro Bowl were guys you would think of as somewhat oafish, actually. Then there were some in the 7-8 range like I mentioned, but then there were a whole bunch over 9. The all-time greats like Gonzalez, Kelce, and maybe a Shannon Sharpe were varied. Kelce was over 9, Sharpe and Gonzalez were in the 8s. It seems like it's really up in the air.

My personal opinion is always to incline towards physical freaks but then there are guys that just know how to move and where to be and it's a function of vision and something else they don't measure, which is intelligence. I think intelligence plays a huge part for some people. I think Emeka Egbuka is going to be living proof of an excellent but not mind-blowing athlete in comparison to his peers that will excel because of his intelligence.

So there are other things once you hit the athletic baseline that is still genetically freaky but is only above-average in comparison to your professional peers.
 
Picked him up thanks to this thread where he is currently on my bench, ironically behind Njoku.

Hope he emerges the way many feel he can this season. Will be interesting to see the target distribution in week 2. Would love to be able to play Fannin and move Njoku.
 
Scott Barrett
Instances where two TEs on the same team ran >30 routes in the same game:

2025: 0 (Njoku had 38 routes, Fannin had 29)
2024: 1 (Ravens Week 1 with Andrews/Likely)
2023: 4 (Falcons twice, Patriots twice)
2022: 1 (Giants once)

It's so rare to find a team capable of supporting two fantasy-relevant TEs. The only real examples are the 2011 Patriots (5th-most passing yards in a season all-time) and the 2019 Eagles (who didn't have a WR gain over 500 yards that year)

@FantasyPtsData
 

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