Things are 'slowing down' for Broncos' rookie TE Noah Fant

The Denver Broncos surprised some by trading back from the No. 10 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft to take tight end Noah Fant at pick 20.

The former Iowa Hawkeye was viewed by most draftniks as the No. 1 pass-catching TE in the 2019 draft class. At 6-foot-4 and 249 pounds, Fant runs a 4.5 40 and has a knack for making explosive plays from the TE position.

The Broncos have been missing that type of ability in their TE corps since the hey-day of Julius Thomas. The fly in the ointment to Fant bringing those days back, however, has been a slow start to training camp.

Headlines galore predominated the Broncos blogosphere when camp opened that Fant was struggling, and local radio seemingly piled on. Fant fired back at his critics during the first week of camp, calling those takes "bogus".

The rookie first-rounder has been in the process of learning and acclimating to many new things as a pro, from the playbook and new coaches and teammates, to the thin air of Mile High and the NFL way of life. As the No. 2 TE on the Broncos' depth chart, Fant has received plenty of reps and has seen a solid amount of snaps in the first two preseason games. He appears to be getting his game legs beneath him and up to speed.

“I feel like things are slowing down a lot more as we go along," Fant said on Monday following the 16th practice of training camp. "At first, it was very fast and a lot of things at once but definitely getting a hang of the offense a lot better and things are starting to slow down for me. I’m able to slow down and get my progressions and things like that so it’s been going good.”

One thing media types and some fans fail to account for sometimes, especially with young players, is how much the learning process can slow down a rookie's production. If a player is thinking, he's not doing.

Just like when you click from one web page to another, if your internet connection isn't of the highest quality, you're going to get a little buffering wheel, affecting the speed at which you can navigate. Fant's football brain has been buffering with the massive amount of information that's been uploaded into it over such a short period of time.

“I’d say it’s a combination," Fant said. "Our defense does a really good job of disguising different looks that they’re going to get into and that comes in the run game and the pass game. Pass game, obviously, disguising different coverages that they’re going to shift to, roll to and things like that and then as far as the D-line. They have all kinds of different stunts and movements and things that they do that makes it a little bit more difficult in the run game because you’re not going to block one set position. You could be going down or out a little bit more than usual, so you kind of just have to pay attention to those things and get used to those in practice.”

That's a lot of real-time info to process for a young player who's still learning his assignments and still has a position coach railing on him to mind his technique. Eventually, it'll all come together.

All Fant needs is time. The cream always rises to the top. He's flashed some of that first-round talent in the first couple exhibition games, and with fellow Iowa alum George Kittle coming to Denver for the San Francisco 49ers/Broncos joint practice sessions ahead of preseason Game 3, it wouldn't surprise me to see Fant take another leap forward.

Kittle is like a big brother to Fant, and since OC Rich Scangarello spent the previous two years with Kittle in San Fran as the Niners' QBs Coach, the Pro Bowl TE has been very helpful, and encouraging, in helping the Broncos' rookie.

“He told me that he thinks that it’s a perfect fit for me," Fant said regarding the Broncos' offense. "As I’ve said before, it’s a great offense for me to be in, a great offense for a tight end to be in especially with how Coach Scangarello likes to get to the tight end and things like that. I couldn’t have asked for a better fit and you don’t get to choose where you go in the draft but it ended up working out perfectly for me.”

When the Broncos picked up the phone to call Fant to inform him they were taking him in the first round, Scangarello hopped on and told his new pupil how confident and excited he is about his fit in this offense. What it's going to take to get Fant from where he is now to where he wants to be is a little patience from the fanbase and media, and a lot of work on his part.

He's putting in that effort. Now, he just needs time. Give it to him.

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen.