It's not often that an NFL team has a rookie tight end lead it in receiving yards. However, that was the case for the Cleveland Browns' Harold Fannin Jr., who made a major impact in Year 1. The third-round pick of the Browns in the 2025 draft finished with 72 receptions for 731 yards and six touchdowns. He will be a major part of Cleveland’s push to improve its offense this season.
There is, however, the issue of injuries for the 21-year-old Fannin, who suffered a groin injury in the latter part of last season. He played through it before checking out early in Cleveland's Week 17 win over Pittsburgh and missing the regular-season finale.
This offseason, Fannin participated in head coach Todd Monken's voluntary veteran minicamp in April, but hasn’t participated in the team's current OTAs. Speculation surrounding his absence is ongoing.
The situation has some in the sports media world questioning how losing Fannin would affect the Browns if his injury issues linger into 2026. FanSided's Austen Bundy recently listed Fannin as having one of the biggest impacts on his team if he were to miss extended time.
"The Browns are already having to deal with a confusing quarterback battle, and if the eventual winner doesn't have a consistent target like Fannin to work with this offseason, things could get dicey," Bundy wrote. "Cleveland fans shouldn't worry yet, but his absence is worth noting if it persists in the coming weeks."
The Browns have very few answers behind Harold Fannin Jr. right now
Cleveland lost veteran tight end David Njoku in free agency this offseason, and the Browns have nothing but question marks behind Fannin on the depth chart at this point. Brendan Bates, Jack Stoll, and Blake Whiteheart remain on the roster as veterans, along with recent Day 3 draft picks Joe Royer and Carsen Ryan.
Bates has four catches for 48 yards in his two seasons in the NFL. Stoll, a five-year veteran, comes from the New Orleans Saints, where he caught six passes for 46 yards and one touchdown in 2025. Whiteheart is entering his fourth season and has caught eight passes for 55 yards while playing for the Browns during the 2024 and 2025 campaigns.
While any of those three players could fill a depth or practice squad role for the Browns this season, they leave much to be desired in terms of complementing Fannin as a pass-catching weapon in Monken's offense. As for the two rookies, both players had good careers at their respective schools but nothing that screamed potential NFL star.
Ryan, who could potentially make the team as a fullback, played for BYU a season ago and collected 45 passes for 620 yards and three touchdowns. Royer started his career with Ohio State before playing the last two seasons at Cincinnati, where he caught 79 passes for 937 yards and seven touchdowns.
Fannin will definitely be an important part of this room’s makeup and play a major role in determining how much success this Browns offense has. Let's all hope the injury bug stays far away from this new Cleveland football star, as to Bundy's point, losing Fannin could lead to a disaster.
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