Before the Cleveland Browns open Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Liam Coen made it clear he thinks Harold Fannin Jr. is getting too little attention.
The Jaguars head coach said he is a huge fan of Fannin Jr. and called him super underrated after studying his tape. Coen pointed to the Browns tight end’s ability to work both in-line and split out wide, describing a player who can block, run routes and create problems all over the formation.
Why Coen singled him out
Coen’s praise was especially notable because Fannin Jr. had been flying under the radar as the Browns remade their receiving corps this offseason. Even with that changing backdrop, his debut season gave the league plenty to notice: 72 receptions, 731 yards and six touchdowns.
He also finished with a 67.9 Pro Football Focus grade and a 76.4 receiving grade, numbers that help explain why opposing coaches are already talking about him as more than a role player. Coen said he liked Fannin Jr. coming out of Bowling Green and saw a player whose game can line up with what Browns head coach Todd Monken wants to do.
More than just a receiving threat
Coen did note there is still room for improvement as a blocker, but his overall point was that Fannin Jr. is useful in a lot of different ways. He referenced a play where Fannin Jr. held his own against Micah Parsons in the run game, then moved into routes such as wheels, options and longer in-breaking patterns.
That type of versatility is what makes the Browns tight end an interesting Week 1 matchup problem. Coen also drew a line to what Todd Monken did with Isaiah Likely in Baltimore, suggesting Fannin Jr. could be used in a similarly flexible way.
For Cleveland, the comments are a reminder that Fannin Jr. is no longer just an under-the-radar name. For Jacksonville, they are a warning that the Browns’ tight end could be one of the more difficult players to account for when the game kicks off in Week 1.
