CINCINNATI — When Noah Fant made the choice to signal with the Cincinnati Bengals two weeks in the past, it nearly appeared like future.
Three years in the past, Fant was watching the AFC Championship sport between the Bengals and Kansas Metropolis Chiefs, and after Joe Burrow led Cincinnati to an upset win on the highway, Fant jumped on social media to let the world understand how impressed he was with the Bengals quarterback.
On the time, Fant was coming off a 2021 season with the Denver Broncos the place he caught passes from Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock. Since getting into the NFL with Denver because the twentieth general choose within the 2019 NFL Draft, Fant has caught passes from seven totally different beginning quarterbacks, however none of them are fairly on Burrow’s stage.
Burrow-to-Fant connection is already coming alongside properly
Now that Fant is in Cincinnati, the 27-year-old appears fairly excited concerning the concept of catching passes from Burrow, who led the NFL in passing yards (4,918), passing touchdowns (43) and completions (460) in 2024.
“I’ve form of admired his sport from afar,” Fant mentioned of Burrow following Tuesday’s observe. “With the ability to get on the sector with him, catch some passes, it is actually cool to see how sharp he’s, how good he’s, how decisive. He is an amazing quarterback. It has been actually cool being part of that. Hopefully, I can hold contributing whichever method I am requested to maintain incomes his belief.”
Fant, who signed with the Bengals on July 31, has solely been training with the workforce for a few week, however he is already give you some massive performs. He caught an extended landing through the workforce’s observe on Saturday and he additionally had a pleasant seize over the center throughout Tuesday’s observe, which was certainly one of a number of catches that he made on the day.
Fant has been working in with the primary workforce, which is an efficient signal that he’ll in all probability make his preseason debut on Monday towards Washington after being held out of the Bengals’ preseason opener in Philadelphia on Aug. 7.
Burrow undoubtedly loves throwing to his tight ends: In 2024, Burrow accomplished a complete of 460 passes on the 12 months and 28% of these (129) went to a good finish, which is nice information for Fant.
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Teaching workers’s early plan for Fant
The Bengals added Fant despite the fact that they have already got a reasonably full tight finish room. There are presently 5 wholesome tight ends on the roster in Mike Gesicki, Drew Pattern, Tanner Hudson, Cam Grandy and Tanner McLachlan, so in that side, some may need been shocked that the Bengals added Fant.
The addition really makes lots of sense, although, and that is largely as a result of he provides the Bengals a flexible chess piece they do not essentially have proper now. Gesicki caught 65 passes final season, which led all tight ends on the workforce, however most of these catches got here out of the slot (he was roughly the workforce’s third receiver in 2024). After which you may have gamers like Pattern, who usually strains up as a good finish on the road of scrimmage within the extra conventional sense.
Fant has the flexibility to do each and that is what the Bengals preferred about him after they made the choice to signal him on July 31, in accordance with coach Zac Taylor.
“He provides you much more flexibility. You’ve got bought a participant that is actually a plus participant in each the run and the cross,” Taylor mentioned. “On the level of assault, blocking out of the backfield for defense he might help you, but additionally actually explosive as a receiver.”
If the Bengals need Fant within the slot, they will throw him within the slot, but when they need him on the market after they’re in 12 personnel with two tight ends, he can try this, too, in accordance with offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher.
“He is explosive, he is quick, he is highly effective, he has massive highly effective strides,” Pitcher mentioned of Fant on Sunday. “He can perform as a blocker in 12 personnel in quite a lot of totally different roles.”
The one factor slowing Fant down proper now’s the truth that he has had lower than two weeks to study the complete offensive playbook.
“He is form of ingesting from a hearth hose proper now slightly bit, as you possibly can think about,” Pitcher mentioned. “We’re on the 600 stage course of the Cincinnati Bengals Joe Burrow offense. He is attempting to take all of it in, and he is doing job of that. He is placing within the work. We clearly have a imaginative and prescient for a way we will use him and the way we will use his ability set and also you guys will see that quickly sufficient.”
Ingesting from the hearth hose is certainly a stable analogy: Fant identified that there is a lot to study, like all of the checks that he must know.
“I feel the cool factor is how detailed the offense is,” Fant mentioned. “After they get into video games — as I am seeing, as I am studying the playbook and going via all these things — they’ve so many various checks or no matter they might must scratch any itch they want within the sport, on the snap of a finger. Having that in an offense, it is lots of work on the entrance finish to get that down, however on the again finish, it is form of opened issues up, so you may have a really open offense the place you are able to do no matter you need at any time.”
Fant has completed with a minimum of 500 yards receiving in 4 of his six profession seasons and he did that whereas catching passes from guys like Joe Flacco, Lock, Brandon Allen, Jeff Driskel and Brett Rypien. Now that he is catching passes from Burrow, Fant’s full potential would possibly lastly be unleashed.
As soon as he learns the offense, the Bengals will seemingly flip Fant right into a human Swiss Military knife by having him do the whole lot from catching passes to run blocking. The Bengals have already got some of the loaded offenses within the NFL with gamers like Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, and it simply bought extra loaded with the addition of Fant.
