The Opening Drive 12/30: Harold Fannin Jr. in Rare Company, and What Picking Sixth Looks Like

The Browns young tight end has blown away expectations this year.

Dec 30, 2025

CLEVELAND, OHIO - DECEMBER 28: Harold Fannin Jr. #44 of the Cleveland Browns catches a pass during the first quarter of the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Huntington Bank Field on December 28, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Matt Starkey/Cleveland Browns)

The Browns pulled off an improbable win Sunday against the Steelers, and in doing so, they found the end zone just once. Not surprisingly, that lone touchdown came from tight end Harold Fannin Jr., who has become a weapon—really, the only trustworthy weapon—in the Browns’ passing game all season. There was some early belief that Fannin would have a significant role in the offense based on training camp practices and comments from within the organization, but you never truly know until the offense unfolds in real games.

Right from Week 1, however, you could sense how badly Kevin Stefanski and company wanted to get Fannin involved. He’s lined up in the backfield, at wing, in the slot, out wide, and just about everywhere else you could imagine. They’ve used him as a tight end, fullback, wide receiver, and even quarterback. It’s quite rare to see a young tight end enter the league and gain the trust of an offense this quickly. When he left Sunday’s game in the first quarter, it was immediately obvious how much the Browns’ offense struggled without his presence.

Kevin Stefanski spoke about the trust Fannin has developed with Shedeur Sanders and the rest of the offense. “Obviously, Harold’s a big part of our offense and definitely a player that Shedeur trusts with the football. We trust all our guys that are out there, and we made adjustments throughout the game without having Harold for the majority of it. But there’s definitely a comfort level with Harold and the quarterbacks.”

While Fannin has hit the learning curve hard on blocking assignments—which is very natural for a young tight end—he has entered the league as one of the more effective pass catchers at the position in recent history. Through 17 weeks, he has already posted a top-10 receiving yards season. Those are some fun names on that list.

It remains to be seen if Fannin will be able to go one last time in Week 18 while dealing with the groin injury, but even without playing against Cincinnati, the rookie has put up a historic season. The Browns have to feel great about their 3rd round pick and the clear future of the tight end room for a long time to come.

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I know we are all feeling a little sort of way about the Browns dropping down to sixth in the current NFL Draft standings, so I wanted to show you a quick quarterback-less mock to provide perspective on what type of talent influx they can have in the coming class. They could still end up with a better pick after Week 18 or even trade down and get more picks to add to these, but there is clearly enough opportunity here to help fix the two biggest positional issues on the roster right now. It’s not all doom-and-gloom but I do understand those who feel that way.

On the way out, the NFL announced their 15 finalists for the Hall-of-Fame this morning and man are these lists getting tougher and tougher to select the right guys. Each year the list will grow with more deserving names. So many there from my favorite years of watching football. It’s a tough choice. I will go with Drew Brees, Luke Kuechly, Larry Fitzgerald, Terrell Suggs, and Jason Witten.

Who would you select from the final fifteen?

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