Draft value is usually measured over years, not weeks. Early picks get the headlines on draft night, while players taken later have to fight for attention once they reach the league. Every so often, though, a mid-round pick outplays the names taken ahead of him from the start. The Browns appear to have found one of those players at tight end.
PFF ranked the top tight ends from the 2025 draft class by career receiving yards, and a Browns player sits at the top.
Harold Fannin Jr. leads the class with 1,184 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. Tyler Warren of the Indianapolis Colts is 2nd with 1,092 yards and 6 scores, followed by Colston Loveland of the Chicago Bears with 1,076 yards and 8 touchdowns. Oronde Gadsden II and Gunnar Helm round out the top 5.
Most career receiving yards among TE from 2025 draft class
Rec TDs
Harold Fannin Jr. 1,184 10
Tyler Warren 1,092 6
Colston Loveland 1,076 8
Oronde… pic.twitter.com/FnxhQHI6R4— PFF (@PFF) November 10, 2026
What makes that list stand out is where each player was drafted. Warren and Loveland were both top 15 picks in the 1st round. Fannin lasted until the 3rd round, where the Browns took him 67th overall out of Bowling Green. He has more yards and more touchdowns than both of them.
Fannin got off to a fast start as a rookie, catching 72 passes for 731 yards and 6 touchdowns despite starting only 13 of his 16 games. He has built on that in his 2nd season with 37 catches for 453 yards and 4 touchdowns through 9 games, averaging 12.2 yards per catch.
His last 3 games show why defenses are struggling to cover him. Fannin caught 6 passes for 91 yards in the win at Tennessee, followed by 10 catches for 154 yards in Pittsburgh and then broke 2 tackles on his way to a 39-yard overtime touchdown in New Orleans.
He is doing all of this while dealing with a groin injury, the same issue that ended his rookie season early and limited him in practice last week. He played 84% of the offensive snaps on Sunday anyway.
There is also a hometown angle. Fannin grew up in Canton and played his high school football at McKinley before starring at Bowling Green, so the steal came from right down the road.
The Browns did not add a tight end at the trade deadline, even though many argued that a blocking tight end would free Fannin to move around the formation even more. With or without help, he has become one of the most reliable weapons in the offense.
Fannin and the Browns host the Houston Texans on Sunday.
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