Athleticism: 8.04

Q.A.B.: 8.10

Excellent athleticism, with a long-tapered frame, with ridiculous catching radius, excellent deep speed, great agility, and outstanding jumping ability. Knows how to make combative catches, and will shield defenders away from the ball.

Flexibility: 7.90

Smooth, and fluid mover in space. Has the short area quickness, and loose joints to be a terror after the catch. Can adjust to errant passes, and will catch ball away from his frame.

C.O.D.: 7.90

Great fluidity to be able to make as many plays laterally, as he does vertically down the field. Was a menace for second and third level defenders to try, and cover due to his immense measurables, speed, and strength. Was a YAC monster, who could turn short crossing routes into chunk yardage plays.

Explosion: 8.20

Explosive vertical jump with a reported over 42" vertical this spring. He also reportedly set new standards at Iowa Football performance records in the agility drill, and 10-yard dash. He possesses explosive deep speed that allows him to consistently beat DB's downfield. Was a multi-sport athlete in high school where he played basketball as well, where he obliterated a backboard on a fast break dunk.

Deep Speed: 8.10

Excellent speed to be able to stretch the field vertically from an in-line position, but also showed the ability to split out to WR, and be able to bully CB's, that could not match his physicality. Looks like he is gliding down the field with long strides.

Receiving Skills: 7.07

Quicks Off LOS: 5.50

Was consistently one of the last players off the LOS, which may mean that he lacks anticipation of the snap. What is worse is that he struggles to escape strong jams at the LOS, which throws him off his timing with his QB.

Route Running: 7.70

Ran a variety of routes in a pro-style offense at Iowa, that is ran by a former NFL offensive assistant in Brian Ferentz who worked for the Patriots. Excelled at running crossing routes where his athleticism could shine through after the catch, as well as vertical routes where he could use his ideal jumping ability to make it a mismatch. Understands how to box out defenders, and shield them away from the pass.

Separation: 6.70

Truly struggles to release from a strong jam at LOS. Even when going up against smaller DB's, they could inhibit his ability to separate off the snap. He can gain space in the second phase of the route, through his breaks in and out of the route, due to his fluidity, and lateral agility. He also showed the ability to win late in the process with his strength and stature, as well as his ability to high-point passes.

Hands: 8.00

Soft, natural hands catcher, that has the look of a WR with the ball in his hands than a TE. Strong grip strength to be able to secure pass away from his frame while taking big hits.

Yards After Contact: 7.00

Runs hard after the catch, and shows sufficient leg drive to be able to break tackles. He at times looks more like a finesse player, than a true bulldozer after the catch, and would rather run by the defender than drop a shoulder to go through them.

Ball Security: 7.50

Generally, was a very trustworthy in protecting the ball. Understands how to brace himself when big hits are coming.

Blocking: 5.88

In-Line Runs: 5.70

Inconsistent run blocker, who understands the proper run blocking techniques, and mechanics, but struggles to maintaining sufficient contact with defender, which allows them to shed him easily. He also lacks lower body bulk, which negates his ability to anchor and drive against any type of defender.

Motion Runs: 5.90

Used as a move TE a ton, and showed a knack for being able to flow, and fit on defenders at the second level, but was also very inconsistent in his ability to seal the defender once he got there. Struggled to be able to stay in front of better athletes than him, and they could flash by him in an instant.

Blocking In Space: 6.10

Was a decent stalk blocker out in front of screen passes due to his length, and ability to eat up space in a hurry. These types of blocks were the ones he had the most success with due to having a distinct size, and strength advantage.

Pass Blocking: 5.40

Was not asked to drop back into quick sets in pass protection often, rather he was asked to chip, and release where he could make plays downfield as a pass catcher, where he excels, rather than put him into a position he does not have a chance to succeed.

Situational Awareness: 6.30

Was a true threat with the ball in his hands as a receiver at all points in the game, and gave sufficient effort when they would be passing the ball. However, he can at times give lackluster effort in the blocking department, which makes him more of a specialty player, than a good all-around TE. Was a consistent red zone threat, that knew when his QB would be looking his way at that part of the field.

Competitiveness: 6.93

Toughness: 6.50

For as much physicality, and strength he has in his build, he likes to play the game more finesse than a gritty performer. Will look to use his athleticism to slip past defenders. Will make the tough combative catches, by shielding the ball away from defenders, and can absorb big blows.

Production: 7.80

Was always at or near the top of all TE's in college football in YPC, and was a noted red zone target with 17 career TD's on his ledger. Was named a Third team AP All-American, and a First team All-Big Ten selection in 2018. He was also named a Third team All-Big Ten selection in 2017 as well.

Consistency / Motor: 6.50

Puts forth top notch effort when it comes to all things considering the passing game, but when he is asked to consistently block on a regular basis his focus, and effort become lackadaisical. In 2018, he slowly became fazed out of full time snaps due to a lack of effort, injury, and the development of a more well-rounded TE.

Intelligence: 6.87

Instincts: 6.60

Terrific feel for how to get open, as well as how to get in a position to either score in the red zone, or make a play after the catch. Understands blocking schemes, positioning, and how to angle defenders away from the ball, it's just that he doesn't apply them often enough.

Learn/Retain: 7.00

Smart kid, that has experience in a NFL style offense, and showed a knack for working back to his QB. Also understands the difference in how to run routes through man, and zone coverages.

Versatility: 7.00

Played in-line some at Iowa, but he was used more often as a move TE, when it comes to pure TE positions. He was deployed in a higher amount of snaps in the slot, and out wide as a WR, which makes sense due to his ability as a pass catcher, and a lack of drive as a blocker.

STRENGTHS:

Outrageously talented, and athletic pass-catching TE, that looks more like a bulked up WR. Huge catching radius, and outstanding jumping ability, which lends itself to being able to high-point passes downfield, as well as being a mismatch nightmare in the red zone. Ran routes out of a college system, very similar to a NFL offense, and is used to taking NFL caliber coaching. Uses his short area quickness, lateral agility, and excellent deep speed to be able pick up chunk yardage after the catch. Has the basis down on what it takes to succeed in the run blocking game, and with his build he should be able to make an impact in that facet, but will need a fire lit under him to do so.

WEAKNESSES:

Lacks lower body bulk, and the fire to want to succeed in the run blocking department. Looks at times like he isn't playing with maximum effort especially in the run department. Lacks a burst off the LOS, and seems to always being coming off the snap a second later than everyone else. What highlights that weakness is his inability to shed jams at the LOS, which throws off the timing in his routes, and with his QB. For having as much size as he does, he should bulldoze over defenders, but he usually takes the more finesse route, and tries to outrun or out juke defenders.

BIG PICTURE:

Noah Fant, was riding a hype wave coming into the 2018 college season, and he wasn't able to capitalize on it. He eventually lost out on playing time to a better, and more versatile redshirt sophomore that has a chance to go early in this year's draft as well. He still has a bright future though, and a ton of franchises would like to take him with a draft pick, based purely upon his receiving prowess and athleticism. If you are a team that already has blocking TE's in place, he could be the final piece of the puzzle as a red zone threat, and matchup nightmare. His game is reminiscent of Bucky Hodges coming out of Virginia Tech, where he came into the season with first round hype, but due to an inability to develop his all-around game, and simply be rated based on his pass catching talents put him behind others in the draft class.

Projected Round: 3-5

Team Fits: Packers, Saints, Ravens, Patriots, Steelers, Eagles, and Seahawks

NFL Comp: Bucky Hodges

Noah Fant

Position: Tight End

College: Iowa

Height: 6'5"

Weight: 241 lbs

SCOUTING GRADE

6.88

Injury History: 2018: Concussion (vs. Minnesota), Ribs (vs. Northern Iowa)

Games Evaluated: 2018: Wisconsin, Penn State, Northwestern

Scout: Roy Countryman

Scouting Report