Denver Broncos: Have faith in tight end Noah Fant

It is the midway point of the regular season and fans are already clamoring that Denver Broncos rookie tight end Noah Fant is a bust.

Yeah, you read that right. Denver Broncos rookie tight end Noah Fant is a bust in the eyes of many fans entering week eight of his first NFL season.

This type of thinking is the problem with society and the instant gratification world. First-round selections generally are expected to be high impact first-year players. But due to fans clamoring for instant results, they feel it necessary to label a player the “bust” word immediately into their professional career when expectations are not met.

Fant has not had a perfect start to the season. There have been drops, but it is more due to the inaccuracy of quarterback Joe Flacco than anything. However, plays where the ball touches your hands, you have to catch it.

Fant is struggling, but Denver needs to continue to feed him to build confidence and further the process of his development as a tight end in the NFL. This leads us to the other issues of labeling a player a bust.

The tight end position is one that takes a long time to bear fruit. There’s even some history which backs this up. Players like George Kittle, Tony Gonzalez, and Shannon Sharpe did not become tremendous talents in their first season. It took a few years and Broncos fans need to be patient in that regard.

Gonzalez had 33 catches for 368 yards with two touchdowns in his first year. Sharpe had seven catches for 99 yards and a touchdown in first with the Denver Broncos.

Tight ends are not regularly first-round draft picks, but there are reasons they’re drafted in those rounds in the first place.

It is uncommon seeing two tight ends from the same school be drafted in the first round. But for people that watched both TJ Hockenson and Noah Fant coming out of Iowa, you would understand why.

As has been stated numerous times before, run blocking is a non-negotiable trait at Iowa. If you do not know how to run block, then your spot on the team is in jeopardy.

Then factor in why they are first-round picks. Both Hockenson and Fant are athletic freaks. Hockenson is more refined in catching and blocking making him a more complete package.

However, Fant is more than capable of getting there. Let’s not ignore the fact he pancaked a player against the San Francisco 49ers. As for tough catches and using his body as a shield. The play against the Oakland Raiders on Monday ring a bell?

For fans, the talent of Fant is clearly there. We just need to stop living in a “what have you done for me lately” and instant gratification world. Fans were criticizing Courtland Sutton last year for many of the same reasons, and now he is emerging as a top wide receiver in the NFL. Things change quickly.

So, be patient and trust that the development will show.