Harold Fannin Jr.’s Relentless YAC Turns a Tough Season into a Showcase
If you’ve been watching the Cleveland Browns this year, you’ve probably noticed that one bright spot keeps flashing through a season that hasn’t gone according to plan. And that spark has come from rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr., who’s turning yards after the catch into something that feels almost artistic — and honestly, a little impossible at times.
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What’s been happening with Fannin isn’t just routine football effort. According to offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, the coaching staff has practically had to build a new teaching point around him. He joked that when you think Fannin is being tackled… well, he’s probably not. Players have been told to keep blocking because the moment they assume the play is over is usually the moment Harold breaks free and turns a modest gain into something much bigger. It’s reached the point where his teammates treat his tackles like suggestions rather than certainties.
That was on full display against the Raiders, where he ripped off 17- and 15-yard gains by shrugging off multiple defenders. On one of those plays, it took three Las Vegas defenders just to drag him down. You could see teammates feed off it too. Rookie running back Dylan Sampson even said that when everyone else looks tired, Harold is still fighting, and that sort of effort becomes contagious on a young roster trying to find its identity.
Fannin himself admits his mentality goes all the way back to his roots as a running back. Each time he gets the ball, he thinks about falling forward — gaining something, no matter what. And the numbers back it up. Even with only 40 receiving yards against the Raiders, he managed 44 yards after the catch because some passes came behind the line of scrimmage. On the season, he's already at 241 YAC yards, second among rookie tight ends, and he leads the Browns in that category too.
It’s remarkable for a third-round pick who once saw his draft stock slip after a disappointing combine. Before that, he had dominated at Bowling Green, where he set FBS single-season records for receptions and yards by a tight end. Andrew Berry called him the team’s “queen on the chessboard” back in April — a multipurpose piece who could attack from anywhere — and that vision is coming to life exactly when the Browns need stability the most.
Rees describes Fannin’s skill as something innate: the balance, the strength, the sheer will to stay upright. And in a 3-8 season short on positives, that determination has become something the Browns can truly lean on. A rookie refusing to go down, dragging defenders and the mood of the whole team forward with him — play after play, hit after hit.
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