Noah Fant Released



He'd look good in a Chiefs uniform as a Kelsey replacement. He has never played with a good QB since joining the NFL. Chiefs could sign him at a bargain and Mahommes would make him a star. Go Hawks!
 


I kinda wondered if he'd be a cap casualty of sorts when they drafted a TE in the 2nd round. I'm only suprised that either they hadn't already done this earlier or why they wouldn't have let em battle it out in camp and see what they have in the rookie. Guess they made their decision. Oh well. Now he can go play with Kittle they need a #2 TE bad. But if he went to MN or Detroit I wouldn't be mad at that either. Regardless of where he ends up he won't have to wait long to find a place. I'm not worried about him. He's got plenty of tread on the tires left. He'll get a job again soon
 




NCHawker said:
I had the impression that he didn't apply himself / work as hard as he could have. I guess the word I'm looking for his he seemed entitled.
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Didn't the same issue arise a bit his last year at Iowa? I think it was his brother that was critical of his usage on some Omaha media sites. I also think some of the issue was his run blocking and taking plays off. I'm sure that did not bode well under KF's watch nor would it go over well in the NFL.

Hopefully, he can reapply himself and get picked up by another team. He is a tremendous talent if he applies himself. I think Iowa's reputation for putting tight ends and offensive linemen in the NFL speaks for itself. A lot of that is fundamentals and technique. All important things that must be drilled upon to create that finished product.
 


I think Fant has been unfairly cast as not a hard worker or team player, much of which stems from the weird dynamic with his brother, but also being the second best TE on your college team, but still being a first round draft pick talent.

Fant has had a solid NFL career to this point. He is not a star, but he has been a starter or at least a contributor on two franchises, and was thought well enough that he was included as a piece in the Wilson trade. He has probably underperformed his draft slotting, but look at the thoroughly average QBs he has been matched with. It is not surprising to me that he was cut due to his cap hit. Happens all the time with average veterans. Fant should look for the right team to sign with. He would be better off being the second tight end on a team with a really good QB and playoff hopes, than signing with a Cleveland and having no one to throw him the ball.
 


NCHawker said:
I had the impression that he didn't apply himself / work as hard as he could have. I guess the word I'm looking for his he seemed entitled.
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I thought he was underused at Iowa. I thought BF found some creative ways to use him (and TJ) but then went away from it for long stretches at a time. It was so odd. There were games where it seemed like he wasn't even in the game plan when he shoulda been at the top of it. Way too many games where he didn't play a ton of snaps let alone get targets. Yet when they did go to him he showed what a mismatch he was for college defenses.
 


NorthKCHawk said:
I think Fant has been unfairly cast as not a hard worker or team player, much of which stems from the weird dynamic with his brother, but also being the second best TE on your college team, but still being a first round draft pick talent.

Fant has had a solid NFL career to this point. He is not a star, but he has been a starter or at least a contributor on two franchises, and was thought well enough that he was included as a piece in the Wilson trade. He has probably underperformed his draft slotting, but look at the thoroughly average QBs he has been matched with. It is not surprising to me that he was cut due to his cap hit. Happens all the time with average veterans. Fant should look for the right team to sign with. He would be better off being the second tight end on a team with a really good QB and playoff hopes, than signing with a Cleveland and having no one to throw him the ball.
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Yeah he and TJ were drafted really high for TEs that yr. I'm still not sure how the hype train got them both that high but I'm not mad at it. Both were gonna have a tough time living up to it is all. TJ has had a really solid career and that big contract he got is evidence enough of that. And yeah Fant hasn't had a top 20 QB throwing to him yet. That kinda matters. But when you're drafted that high you're going to bad teams that's just how it goes. Unless he was to have a career closer to what Kittle has had he was always not going to live up to being drafted that high. Despite still being a pretty decent productive TE.
 


Fant was drafted 20th (not top 5 or something) and has over 3000 career yards receiving and nearly 300 receptions in 6 seasons thus far.

He is an NFL starter released due to his cap number. In the grand scheme of things, that's a pretty solid career so far.
 


SwirlinLingerie said:
Fant was drafted 20th (not top 5 or something) and has over 3000 career yards receiving and nearly 300 receptions in 6 seasons thus far.

He is an NFL starter released due to his cap number. In the grand scheme of things, that's a pretty solid career so far.
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Agreed. Hock is also on his second team and was drafted even higher. Hock's numbers are better, despite a pretty serious injury, but he played with Stafford and Cousins and a resurgent Sam Darnold. I think Fant has had a solid career so far and probably has some upside that has not be realized due to the crappy teams and QBs he has been with.

Dude is a free agent, and should find the best fit. He is still a starting TE in this league and in the right system could really shine.
 


Maybe for a little perspective, these are the only Iowa tight ends ever with more career receiving yards in the NFL.

Dallas Clark, George Kittle and TJ Hockenson. That's it. Fant is fourth all time. (Although someone should check my math).

He has 3,300 career receiving yards in 6 seasons. Dallas Clark, by comparison, had 5,600 yards in 11 seasons. Fant is actually ahead of Clark's pace through 6 seasons, and he didn't have Payton Manning throwing to him. So I'd caution against any nonsense about underperforming, entitled, doesn't apply himself, etc.

As you can probably tell, I'm still a little miffed about Fant's time at Iowa. While he put up good numbers, and there were other talented options to distribute the ball to at the time (including Hockenson), Fant came off the field WAY too much in my opinion. At one point, Brian called him a "specialist." In one of those 9 or 10 win seasons, Fant barely played a snap in the second half in a loss to Northwestern. And something somewhat similar happened in a loss to Wisconsin. Why didn't Iowa play Fant and Hock together on 85% of its snaps?

Iowa was (is?) often very, very stubborn in how they operate. I'll never understand why they weren't stubborn in targeting Fant 15 times every game, at least until someone showed they could stop it. There were very few Big Ten linebackers who could run with him, if any, and very few cornerbacks who were tall enough or could jump high enough to cover him.
 


SwirlinLingerie said:
Maybe for a little perspective, these are the only Iowa tight ends ever with more career receiving yards in the NFL.

Dallas Clark, George Kittle and TJ Hockenson. That's it. Fant is fourth all time. (Although someone should check my math).

He has 3,300 career receiving yards in 6 seasons. Dallas Clark, by comparison, had 5,600 yards in 11 seasons. Fant is actually ahead of Clark's pace through 6 seasons, and he didn't have Payton Manning throwing to him. So I'd caution against any nonsense about underperforming, entitled, doesn't apply himself, etc.

As you can probably tell, I'm still a little miffed about Fant's time at Iowa. While he put up good numbers, and there were other talented options to distribute the ball to at the time (including Hockenson), Fant came off the field WAY too much in my opinion. At one point, Brian called him a "specialist." In one of those 9 or 10 win seasons, Fant barely played a snap in the second half in a loss to Northwestern. And something somewhat similar happened in a loss to Wisconsin. Why didn't Iowa play Fant and Hock together on 85% of its snaps?

Iowa was (is?) often very, very stubborn in how they operate. I'll never understand why they weren't stubborn in targeting Fant 15 times every game, at least until someone showed they could stop it. There were very few Big Ten linebackers who could run with him, if any, and very few cornerbacks who were tall enough or could jump high enough to cover him.
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I hear you, but this is part of the reason that people hang him with mental/attitude/effort shit. BF is an all-time bad OC, without a doubt. But, he wasn't actively trying to lose. If you have a talented kid who is not applying himself in practice and games 100%, a lot of coaches keep guys like that on the sidelines more. My HS baseball coach preached that "hard work will always beat talent when talent doesn't work hard." None of us were in the practices and the film rooms to know what Fant was like behind the scenes. No question he is one of the most gifted TEs to ever come through Iowa, and that is saying something, but he has been good not great as an NFL tight end, and he is about to be on his third team in 6 seasons, so there may be some there there on the intangibles. None of us know for sure.

I think you got your stats right above. However, in a different era of football, Marv Cook was a better college and NFL TE, and I think most everyone feels that Sam LaPorta is a better NFL TE right now. So, a couple small quibbles with the stats, but in general, I agree that Fant is one of the best TEs to come out of TE U.
 


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