Noah Fant Targets?
- Thread starter mtdew_fever
- Start date
My "bold" prediction for the this season is that TJ Hockenson will finish with more receptions than Fant. Between the two, you have to believe that Fant will receive more attention from opposing teams, a second defender is going to hedge in his direction. I also feel that Hockenson is a better pass catcher.
Depending on the receivers ability to do anything positive, I’d guess TEs will catch about 75 balls together, so maybe 125 passes intended for TEs. That’s about 10 targets per game for both. I’d agree that Fant maybe gets 5-6 per game, catching 3-4.
If they're putting a 2nd defender on Fant it spells better for our WR and RB than the other TE.
Look at Iowa's O in 2009 when we had quality TEs like Moeaki and Reisner on the roster. Kirk and Ken always stated how much of an impact Tony made on the field irrespective of whether he got the ball or not ... because opposing Ds usually had to bracket him or give him some sort of extra attention. Furthermore, as a blocker, he's a guy who was strong enough to neutralize a DE too! Anyhow, the proof in the pudding was how much above their career averages both McNutt and DJK were when a healthy Moeaki was on the field.
Now we're looking at an Iowa offense that does an even better job of utilizing their TEs to create mismatches! So yes ... I agree that the above should open up more opportunities for our WRs and RBs (particularly guys who get caught in man coverage). However, that said ... with Ken as the OC ... our in-line TE's receiving opportunities were usually more on decoy plays. However, Brian works more routes that clear things up for Hockenson too.
It's interesting to consider that Fant was a little bit more of a 1-dimensional TE last season ... and he got taken out a lot. What happens when there are more snaps with BOTH Fant and Hockenson on the field at the same time?
