HaroldFannin Jr.

News: 2 days agoFannin failed to haul in his only target in Saturday's 34-10 preseason loss to the Bears.

Spin: With Deshaun Watson getting the start under center for the Browns, Fannin's only target came on a 3rd-and-5 in Chicago territory, but he couldn't bring in it. Fannin had an impressive rookie season in 2025 after being a third-round pick despite the team's QB woes, but he missed most of the offseason program while recovering from groin surgery and only got cleared in mud-July, costing him valuable time to develop chemistry with Watson. If Watson does win the Week 1 starting job ahead of Shedeur Sanders, who showed a strong rapport with the tight end last year, it could impact Fannin's numbers in the early part of the schedule.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Fannin is a rising star at the tight end position after overcoming the presence of David Njoku and a quarterback merry-go-round to produce a 72-731-6 receiving line (plus 7-13-1 rushing) as a 21-year-old rookie last season. The third-round pick's 108 targets rank eighth all time by a rookie tight end, and he finished no lower than eighth at the position in catches, yards, touchdowns and fantasy points last season. Fannin figures to see some touchdown regression (seven TDs, 3.8 expected, three end zone targets) and Cleveland still has quarterback question marks, but with Njoku gone, Fannin has a path to improve a bit on what was already a healthy 22% target share. He's a solid TE1 target.