Film Room: The good & bad from Noah Fant's performance in Week 2

The Denver Broncos traded down top pick 20 in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft and selected Iowa tight end Noah Fant. He played a solid game against the Oakland Raiders in the season-opener, but we were shown what he still lacks as a player.

It was expected Fant would struggle, as tight ends typically don’t have a major impact in year one, though there are some outliers for that.

It was a tough matchup for Fant against the Chicago Bears in Week 2, as they have athleticism at linebacker that can hang with him. Even with that to his disadvantage, he still played a pretty good game.

It wasn’t perfect by any means, but he took some steps forward. Breaking down the film, there were three plays that really stood out that showed the good and the bad from Fant. It's a pretty good barometer of where he's at.

Play 1: The Mack sack

Denver deserved to get sacked here. If your blocking alignment leaves a rookie tight end against a pass rusher like Khalil Mack, it is justly deserved. The Broncos are in 11 personnel, with Fant and Royce Freeman as the tight end and running back, respectively.

Fant is lined up against Mack, and actually gets solid positioning for the block. He just cuts a little too far inside, and when Mack plants his inside foot to attack the outside shoulder, Fant is unable to recover. Fant slows Mack down slightly, but not enough for a longer-developing drop-back off a play-action.

Fant played this well, he was just put in a horrible position with the formation and play call. He is an okay blocker, but not one that is good enough to handle Mack one-on-one.

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Play 2: Glimpse of receiving prowess

Fant is split out wide, but the Broncos motion him in closer to the line of scrimmage. The Broncos get him matched up against a linebacker, and Fant is quick to get behind him. With a receiver taking the corner deep, the safety decides to ride the receiver. That leaves Fant with a lot of room underneath.

Fant lost the linebacker with how quickly he got upfield. He got himself wide open and made the catch when the Broncos needed a big play. It was a really good play call and Fant finds the soft spot in Chicago's coverage. His cut was really good for a tight end as he plants his foot, and turns it outside.

Play 3: Run blocking a work in progress

Another play to analyze Fant’s blocking. He actually does a good job to start the play. Garett Bolles is pulling across the line, and Fant is to hold the edge before passing him off to Bolles as the left tackle arrives. Fant does just that, and does it with squared shoulders. When Bolles gets there he passes him off well.

This is where the bad starts for Fant. When he passes Bolles off, he lingers for a second. He needed to get off that as soon as Bolles was there, and get engaged with the linebacker. It wouldn’t have changed the play much with the corner coming downhill quickly, but the linebacker going free made any chance of breaking free impossible.

Fant has to get out in front of No. 58 on the outside run.

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