Harold Fannin Jr. Fantasy Overview

2025 Role & Results

Production & Fantasy Finishes

Fannin averaged the eighth-most PPR points per game by a rookie TE in NFL history last year.

He tallied 72 catches for 731 yards and 6 TDs across 16 games. All three marks led the Browns and ranked top-8 among TEs.

Fannin finished eighth at the position in PPR and half-PPR points per game despite splitting time with David Njoku for most of the season.

In four full games that Njoku missed all or most of, Fannin averaged:

• 5.8 catches
• 58.0 yards
• 0.5 TDs

His 16.1 PPR points per game in those contests would have ranked second among TEs on the season.

Usage & Role

Omitting the Week 17 game he left early, Fannin ran a route on 67.9% of Cleveland’s pass plays. That ranked 19th among TEs.

Fannin was an elite target earner, though, posting 0.26 targets per route. That trailed only Dalton Kincaid among TEs with at least 100 routes. Fannin’s 19.9% target share ranked fifth at the position.

In those four games without Njoku, Fannin:

• ran a route on 82.6% of pass plays
• posted a 0.28 targets per route
• and drew 27.2% of Browns targets.

Those marks would have ranked fourth, first, and first among TEs on the season.

Efficiency & Regression

Fannin hauled in 67.3% of his targets and averaged 10.2 yards per catch last year. His 6.8 yards per target ranked 29th among 38 TEs with 40+ targets.

Fannin was significantly better in terms of yards per route, ranking 12th among those 38 TEs. And his 1.68 yards per route looks even more impressive when you consider that all other Browns WRs and TEs combined for just 0.90.

Fannin’s rankings in film-based metrics were mixed. Among those 38 TEs, he finished:

• 13th in Pro Football Focus receiving grade
• 30th in ESPN receiver score
• 23rd in Fantasy Points separation score
• 11th in Fantasy Points win rate

Offensive Context

Fannin played on a bad Browns offense that ranked:

• 30th in total yards
• 32nd in yards per play
• 31st in points

The passing game was one of the worst in the league, finishing:

• 32nd in completion rate
• 31st in yards
• 31st in yards per attempt
• 30th in TDs

Fannin did benefit from weak target competition, though. Njoku missed five games and didn’t play particularly well in the other 12. Jerry Jeudy was an imposter as the team’s No. 1 WR. The rest of the WR corps: Isaiah Bond, Cedric Tillman, Jamari Thrash, Malachi Corley, and Gage Larvadain.

Historical Production & Trends

Fannin has been putting up impressive numbers for a few seasons now. He broke out as a true sophomore at Bowling Green in 2023, leading that team with 623 receiving yards and 6 TDs.

Then came a record-setting 2024. Fannin’s 117 catches and 1,555 yards were the most from a TE in FBS history. He accounted for an absurd 60.0% of his team’s receiving yards and TDs, the second-highest mark among all TEs with 20+ targets since 2004, behind only Trey McBride’s 2021 at Colorado State.

Fannin feasted on a lot of bad defenses in the MAC, but he also torched Penn State for 11 catches, 137 yards, and a TD, and Texas A&M for 8 catches, 145 yards, and a score.

Injury History & Durability

Fannin suffered a groin injury in practice on Dec. 26 last year and then aggravated the injury a couple of days later in Week 17 vs. the Steelers. He missed the season finale.

Fannin didn’t suffer any significant injuries in college.

2026 Opportunity & Projection

Projected Role & Competition

The Browns opted not to re-sign Njoku this offseason, which should put Fannin in a full-time role.

He’ll face tougher target competition, though, after Cleveland spent a top-40 picks on WRs KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston.

Concepcion (24th overall) broke out as a freshman at North Carolina State in 2023 and led Texas A&M with 61 catches, 919 yards, and 9 TDs last year. He’s position-versatile and especially dangerous after the catch.

Boston (39th overall) is your classic big-bodied outside receiver. The 6’4, 212-pounder averaged 13.7 yards per catch with 20 total TDs over his final two seasons at Washington.

They join Jeudy in what could at least be an average WR corps this season. That’d mark a big improvement over last year.

Supporting Cast

QB play remains a big concern.

Deshaun Watson is the early favorite to start, but he’s working back from a twice-torn Achilles. And he wasn’t good with Cleveland even before those injuries, averaging just 6.0 yards per pass attempt across 2022-2024.

The Browns also return second-year QBs Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel. Neither was good as a rookie, averaging 6.6 and 5.1 yards per attempt, respectively.

Cleveland is favored in just one game this season and implied for 17.9 points per game, the lowest in the league.

Coaching & Offensive Scheme

The Browns canned HC Kevin Stefanski and OC Tommy Rees after the 2025 season and replaced them with HC Todd Monken and OC Travis Switzer.

Monken confirmed during his introductory press conference that he'll call offensive plays. This is his first NFL head coaching gig, but he has seven seasons of OC experience (three with the Buccaneers, one with the Browns, and three with the Ravens).

Monken’s Ravens teams were run-heavy, due in large part to having QB Lamar Jackson and RB Derrick Henry. But he leaned pass prior to that, with three of his first four offenses ranking higher in pass attempts than rush attempts.

TEs have typically been a significant part of Monken’s passing games, accounting for 20+% of targets in five of his seven offenses, including 22+% in each of the last three in Baltimore. (The league-wide average is around 20.5%.)

Here’s where Monken’s top TEs have finished in PPR points per game:

Monken gave Fannin some big praise this offseason, comparing him to Brock Bowers, who Monken coached at Georgia in 2021 and 2022.

"He's a little like Brock Bowers in the fact that his body type is more of an 'H' and 'F,' run-after-catch more than length,” Monken said in April. “So you love his athleticism, you like his ability to run after catch, his ball skills like Brock, very similar in that regard."

Paths to Ceiling

Fannin hogged 27% of Browns targets and scored at a TE2 pace in four games without Njoku last year. Njoku is gone now.

The Cleveland WR corps has improved, but Fannin could still dominate targets and push for a top-4 fantasy finish.

Risk Factors

Fannin could lose significant volume to rookie WRs Concepcion and Boston. And this Browns offense has the downside to be the worst in the league.

If the volume and efficiency sink, Fannin could score as a low-end TE1 with limited fantasy impact.