TE Noah Fant Carves Himself out a Slice of Broncos History in Week 9 Performance

Noah Fant just broke out onto the NFL stage.

Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports

Noah Fant held his coming out party in the Denver Broncos' 24-19 victory over the Cleveland Browns in Week 9. The Broncos' rookie tight end had himself a game.

Fant's performance exposed the possibility that perhaps the previous starting quarterback had been neglecting him in the offense. With Brandon Allen under center on Sunday, Fant was targeted four times, hauling in three receptions for 115 yards, which included a massive 75-yard catch-and-run that he took to the house. 

Fant's 75‐yard score represented the eighth‐longest reception by a rookie in franchise history and the fifth‐longest reception by a rookie tight end in NFL history. And that's not all. 

The rookie's career-high 115 yards represented the most by a Broncos tight end since Julius Thomas' nine-reception, 122-yard performance on October 6, 2013, vs. the Dallas Cowboys. Most fans can remember that shoot-out of a game, in which the Broncos eventually emerged victorious 51-48. 

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Fant now has 23 receptions for 300 yards and two touchdowns on the season. His 23 catches represent an all-time team record for a rookie tight end. Orson Mobley caught 22 passes for 332 yards and a score as a rookie in 1986 but it took him 14 games to get there. 

Fant has gotten in done in nine games. One of the most exciting aspects to the Broncos' Week 9 win was the way Allen made sure to feed the offense's play-makers. The first-time NFL starter pushed the ball downfield, targeting the Broncos' talented pass catchers in Fant and WR Courtland Sutton. 

It was a refreshing change-up from the pedantic passing offense under Joe Flacco, who established himself literally as the least-aggressive starting QB in the NFL through the first half of the season. Perhaps we can't put all those check-downs 100% on Flacco's shoulders, as we know OC Rich Scangarello was intent early on this season of involving the running backs in the passing game. 

It was evident to any savvy football fan that Scangarello made several adjustments to the way he called plays in Week 9 and head coach Vic Fangio confirmed it from the podium after the game. 

"Well, obviously, 24 points is an area we haven't been to too many times, so that's good," Fangio said on Sunday following the game. "I thought we called a good game. [We] made some adjustments in our way we call the game and they paid off." 

Clearly, though, one of those changes was the prioritization of Fant and Sutton — the offense's two most explosive receiving weapons — in the passing game. The two combined for 173 yards and two touchdowns. 

Allen only passed for 193 yards, but he helped Fant to look like the veritable former first-round pick that he is. Encouraging developments on that side of the ball to be sure, but as Fangio said after the game, let's at least see how Allen performs in Weeks 11 and 12 after the bye in consecutive road games at Minnesota and Buffalo, before crowning him. 

"He did well. I thought he ran the offense good, showed a little mobility, made some good throws," Fangio said. "He missed a few, too, We're not ready to put him in Canton yet but [I'm] overall pleased with the way he played."

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.