Harold Fannin Jr. is heading into his second NFL season with the Cleveland Browns. The situation around him looks quite different from what it did a year ago. There is a lot to sort through with the young tight end. Should fantasy managers be drafting Fannin in 2026?
Should I Draft Harold Fannin Jr. in Fantasy Football?
I really want to be in on Fannin. He is clearly a very talented player, and what he did as a rookie is genuinely rare for a third-round tight end.
The production speaks for itself. Fannin posted 11.7 fantasy points per game and finished as the TE7. That is a legitimate starting fantasy tight end in his first professional season.
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What makes it more impressive is how he got there. Fannin did that on a 77.2% snap share that ranked 16th at the position, while running a route on only 72.2% of Cleveland’s pass plays, which ranked 19th. He was not on the field as much as the tight ends around him in the standings.
The reason he produced anyway is that his talent commanded the football. Fannin earned a target on 25.5% of his routes run, the second-highest rate in the entire league. When he was out there, the ball found him. There is a ton of upside sitting in that profile if the playing time ever catches up.
The concern, as it is with anyone attached to this offense, is that they are the Browns.
The quarterback situation is a nightmare. Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders will both undoubtedly make starts this season, and neither is an NFL-caliber starter. It is very difficult to build a fantasy case around any pass catcher in that environment.
Target competition is the other problem. Cleveland added K.C. Concepcion and Denzel Boston in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft, and Jerry Jeudy is still around. The only meaningful departure is David Njoku. The additions outweigh that subtraction. We do not need Fannin’s target share taking a hit, particularly in an offense that may struggle to move the football at all.
The unfortunate reality is that the Browns have a pretty talented roster missing only a quarterback. If they ever figure that out, there are a lot of intriguing fantasy options in this building. That is a bet for another year.
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Fannin is my TE7 and the TE7 by ADP. I really want to like him. I also really want to avoid drafting players on bad teams. The Browns are likely to be a bad team.
There is a price at which I will take Fannin. Someone will probably get there before I do.
Katz’s TE Fantasy Rankings 2026
- Brock Bowers | LV
- Trey McBride | ARI
- Colston Loveland | CHI
- Tyler Warren | IND
- Sam LaPorta | DET
- Tucker Kraft | GB
- Harold Fannin Jr. | CLE
- George Kittle | SF
- Kyle Pitts Sr. | ATL
- Dalton Kincaid | BUF
- Travis Kelce | KC
- Dallas Goedert | PHI
- Brenton Strange | JAX
- Isaiah Likely | NYG
- Mark Andrews | BAL
- Jake Ferguson | DAL
- Chig Okonkwo | WAS
- Juwan Johnson | NO
- Hunter Henry | NE
- T.J. Hockenson | MIN
- AJ Barner | SEA
- Greg Dulcich | MIA
- Kenyon Sadiq | NYJ
- Oronde Gadsden II | LAC
- Gunnar Helm | TEN
- Dalton Schultz | HOU
- Pat Freiermuth | PIT
- Colby Parkinson | LAR
- Terrance Ferguson | LAR
- Cade Otton | TB
