It took a very long time for Harold Fannin Jr. to make an impact for the Cleveland Browns against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, but when he finally did, it was impossible to ignore. The tight end took a checkdown pass from Shedeur Sanders and turned it into a 39-yard overtime touchdown, knocking two Saints defenders to the ground in the process.
It was just his second catch of the game, but it put the Browns in position for a thrilling victory. Unfortunately, Cleveland failed on the two-point conversion attempt and lost 23-22.
Despite that result, Fannin continued to build on his reputation as one of the best tight ends in the NFL, with analyst Dan Orlovsky using one word to describe the second-year pro.
“A monster,” Orlovsky posted.
A monster pic.twitter.com/wgkykJATRu
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) November 9, 2026
Fannin was much more like the Invisible Man for the first four quarters and well into overtime. He was not targeted by Sanders on 29 pass attempts until just 1:36 remained, and his first catch was for just three yards.
But two plays later, he made a reception near the line of scrimmage, then turned around and got to work. As Orlovsky showed in his video, Fannin stiff-armed one Saints defender at the 35-yard line and another at the 20 before stumbling into the end zone with 1:00 left.
Fannin had combined for 21 catches in his previous two games and entered Sunday as the Browns’ leader in receptions and yards. After showing excellent chemistry with Sanders at the end of last season, it was thought he would be in for another big day with the QB taking over as the starter for Deshaun Watson, who was inactive after spending the week in concussion protocol.
Instead, the Browns’ passing game as a whole struggled until late in the second half. Fannin was nowhere to be found until Cleveland needed him most.
Now, he will try to get off to a much better start when it hosts the Houston Texans in Week 10 with Watson back at quarterback.
NEXT: Skip Bayless Has One Team He’d Love To See Shedeur Sanders On
