The 2019 NFL Draft will be a great event for teams to start building for their future. The Game Haus will be doing scouting reports on some of the top prospects in the 2019 NFL Draft. Iowa tight end Noah Fant has decided to skip the team’s bowl game in order to focus on the NFL Draft.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qd2WQ3kFerg

Background

Position: Tight End

Class: Junior

2018 Stats: 39 receptions, 518 receiving yards, 7 touchdown catches

Size: 6-foot-4, 249 pounds

Noah Fant has been one of the most productive tight ends in college football over the last few seasons and will now skip Iowa’s bowl game to prepare for the NFL Draft. He probably should have been utilized even more in college, but can now be used properly at the NFL level.

At Iowa, Fant put up most of his stats over the last two seasons. In his career, he had 39 receptions for 1,078 yards and 19 touchdown catches. The offense wasn’t a high scoring one at Iowa, so Fant’s stats are impressive, especially for a tight end. His athleticism and development could allow for him to have an even bigger impact in the pros, just like former Iowa tight end George Kittle. Having played in a pro-style offense at Iowa, Fant has gotten a lot of reps blocking, which isn’t always the case for college tight ends.

NFL teams will see Fant as a player who can be molded, as he seems to have some potential that is untapped. Usually one tight end, at most, gets drafted in the first round of each NFL Draft, but Fant has the talent to get drafted pretty early.

Strengths

Fant has the ability to line up on the line or split out wide because of his speed and athleticism. He is quick off the line of scrimmage at the snap of the ball, giving him an early edge on the play. On pass plays, he uses his speed to get by his defender and then displays solid route-running ability. Against man to man coverage, he is a matchup nightmare, as he is too fast for linebackers and too big for defensive backs. If the defense is playing zone, Fant is able to find the soft spots to exploit the defense. When he is open he demonstrates good hands to complete the play. After the ball is in his hands, he has solid run after the catch ability because of his speed. He is a threat in the red-zone due to his speed and size.

When asked to block, Fant is average in pass protection. On run plays, Fant is a willing blocker and can usually sustain blocks against defensive backs because they are smaller. He does use his speed to get downfield to block defenders that other players may not have been able to get to.

Weaknesses

While his speed is a great strength, it is also a double-edged sword, as he could use some work on his play strength. He is unable to hold blocks very long against bigger players because they are stronger than him. With some time in the weight room and some better blocking technique, he could become a serviceable run blocker in a pro offense.

Fant makes catches when he is the only one around, but when the catches are contested, he has too many drops. In college, he could get enough separation that there weren’t too many contested catches, but in the NFL, Fant will need to prove he can come down with the ball with defenders all over him.

Projected Draft Range: First round-second round

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