The Broncos need to use Noah Fant like they did Julius Thomas
Jul 23, 2020, 6:39 AM
One of the most dangerous positions to stop in the NFL is tight end. It’s taken a while, but it looks like the Broncos have found that dangerous weapon in Noah Fant. Now, it’s time for the Broncos to use the second-year tight end the right way.
Back in 2012, Denver found a diamond in the rough that didn’t play due to injury with Julius Thomas. That didn’t stop Peyton Manning and Adam Gase from figuring out how to use him. In 2013-14, Thomas caught a combined 24 touchdowns helping the Broncos get to a Super Bowl, as well as own the greatest offense in NFL history.
Thomas wasn’t the best blocking tight end in the world and quite frankly he didn’t want to block. Well, the Broncos didn’t really need him to be. Thomas used his basketball background at Portland State and became a threat in the red zone.
Looking back on last year’s film, Fant struggled in the blocking game as a rookie as well. But honestly, the Broncos don’t need him to block. They need him to make plays in the passing game.
Manning and Gase knew how much of a mismatch Thomas could be, so they were able to get creative and line him up all over the field. Denver would spread the field and send Thomas wide to get him one on one with linebackers and even small cornerbacks. This is something Rich Scangarello failed to do last year with Fant.
With all of the hype surrounding Fant last season, it took a while to figure out what his real potential was as a player. It didn’t happen until Week 9 against the Browns, when the rookie tight end took a play action pass 75 yards down the field breaking multiple tackles on his way down the sideline to the north end zone. These are the kind of plays that will force opposing defenses to be scared of Fant.
Denver can simply model their offense around their record breaking 2013 offense too. With Courtland Sutton being that strong deep threat on the outside and Jerry Jeudy using his great route running ability that is similar to Antonio Brown, Fant can be a huge mismatch against linebackers in the middle of the field. Heck, why not throw K.J. Hamler out there too and go four-wide with all of these weapons John Elway drafted?
The more creative Pat Shurmur can get with this offense, the more dangerous Fant can be. Just think when the Broncos would struggle covering tight ends, opposing teams won’t be able to stop Fant because he can evolve to be a top three tight end in the NFL if used like Thomas.
P.S. – Maybe Drew Lock and Pat Shurmur should reach out to Peyton Manning for some advice on how to maximize the potential of a tight end!
