Cleveland Browns rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr. has discreetly become one of the most effective and efficient tight ends in the league this year, despite technically being TE2 for the team.
His athleticism and already elite separation ability have made him stand out against both Cincinnati and Baltimore in weeks one and two, when the Browns have had two tight ends on the field. Cleveland has lined up in 12P for 48.95% of their total offensive snaps in 2025, which is the third-highest rate in the league
behind only Atlanta and Pittsburgh.
Kevin Stefanski is doing everything he possibly can to make sure that both David Njoku and Fannin Jr. are on the field at the same time right now, given the different in-game scenarios.
Stats through weeks 1 and 2:
David Njoku – 83% snap share, 11 targets, 7 recs., 77 receiving yards
Harold Fannin Jr. – 67.5% snap share, 14 targets, 12 recs., 111 receiving yards
Though Njoku will always be the better overall blocker, Fannin has been much better than Njoku ever was in one specific, crucial category: Separation ability.
Fannin Jr. has always been excellent at running routes with confidence and knowing where defenders are at all times. He’s already top-notch at making adjustments on the fly at the top of his routes, using his quick-twitch ability to gain an extra inch or two of separation on a consistent basis.
He led the team (both WR and TE) in NextGenStats.com’s separation rate stat in both weeks 1 and 2, with an average separation distance of 3.11 yards and 3.19 yards, respectively. That’s an absolutely insane number for a tight end in today’s game with linebackers and safeties draped over them most of the time. That’s almost half a yard of separation more than Travis Kelce is averaging in 2025, and they’re being used very similarly from an alignment standpoint.
Naturally, Fannin’s been getting a lot of targets so far due to the simple fact that he’s always getting open.
As you can see in the above tweet, he’s being used almost as often as two of the most versatile, productive tight ends in the league so far this season. The fact that this type of production is coming from a player who’s participating in less than an average of 70% of total offensive snaps is literally unheard of at the NFL level.
Despite the overall EPA numbers being pretty underwhelming for the offense as a whole right now, if they figure things out soon, Cleveland will undoubtedly have the most lethal tight end duo in the league going forward.
Have you been impressed with Harold Fannin Jr. so far? Join fellow Browns fans in the comment section below.
