Despite the bumps along the way, Denver Broncos rookie tight end is having a historic season in his first year in the NFL.
No one wants hyperbole for hyperbole’s sake when it comes to the Denver Broncos. With that said, when something historic happens revolving around a rookie who has been heavily criticized for much of the 2019 season, we’re going to point it out.
Noah Fant, the Broncos’ first-round draft pick out of Iowa, has not been perfect this season. That makes it all the more impressive that his rookie season has been historic.
Fant has 35 catches for 492 yards and three touchdowns this season, and those numbers don’t exactly leap off the page until you realize how those numbers look compared to other rookies in league history.
With his 114-yard performance against the Houston Texans, Fant became just the sixth rookie tight end in league history with two 100-plus yard games. His other 100-yard performance came in Brandon Allen’s first start of the 2019 season against the Cleveland Browns.
According to the Denver Broncos, only four tight ends in NFL history have ever had more than two 100-yard receiving games in their rookie season.
No rookie tight end has had two 100-yard performances in a season since 2002 (Jeremy Shockey, Giants).
Get used to hearing this.@DrewLock23 finds @nrfant for six! pic.twitter.com/4Kv4wKcdDY
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) December 8, 2019
Fant has certainly taken his lumps this season. Between penalties, wrongfully being asked to pass protect, and dropped passes, there has been plenty to rightly criticize the rookie for, but he’s been producing at a level we haven’t seen form a rookie tight end in the NFL since 2002, and he’s hopefully merely scratching the surface of what he can be.
If Fant has another 100-yard game between now and the end of the regular season, he will become the first rookie tight end to do so since 1973 and one of only three players in league history to accomplish that particular feat.
It is worth noting that Fant did not have any 100-yard games with Joe Flacco as the quarterback, for whatever reasons, and it’s also worth noting that Courtland Sutton only has two 100-yard receiving games this season.
It seems like only a matter of time before these guys are able to be relied upon for big-time production weekly, especially with the rapid progress Drew Lock has made in his first two starts.