Why Noah Fant’s mental ‘whirlwind’ as a rookie has him ready to push toward the elite

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — There is a reason why tight ends usually do not show their full potential until their second or third season in the NFL, and it’s tied to the cerebral demands of their position and the multi-faceted nature of their job.

Wide receivers, for example, sometimes have the luxury of focusing on a single spot and a few branches of the route tree as they get a foothold on their roles.

But for tight ends like Noah Fant, the job is considerably more complex. And when asked to look back and share what he could tell his pre-draft self about what to expect, Fant focused on the mental rigors of the job.

“I would say just get ready for a whirlwind, honestly. Not so much physically or anything like that, but mentally it’s tough — especially in our offense,” he explained.

Tight end is not the most difficult position to learn on the offense. But he believes only one position is more demanding.

“I’d say it’s quarterback, and then tight end right underneath them,” Fant said. “It’s been tough in that aspect just kind of learning our offense.”

Fellow rookie tight end Andrew Beck — who currently sees work at fullback with Andy Janovich on injured reserve — has a similar view.

“I would absolutely agree with that,” Beck said. “We have to know protections, run game, pass game, everything that’s kind of going on. We don’t have nearly as much as what’s going on with Drew [Lock], but I would say it’s a close second. It’s an accurate evaluation.”

And it’s why Fant’s production to this point should be celebrated.

Of the 119 tight ends selected in the first or second rounds since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, Fant is one of six with at least 30 receptions, 450 receiving yards and an average of at least 14.0 yards per reception in the first 13 games of his rookie campaign.

Four of the other five eventually had lengthy careers that included Pro Bowl selections. Three of them were starters on Super Bowl-winning teams — Ken Dilger, Charle Young and Russ Francis.

But one is an all-timer: Hall of Famer Ozzie Newsome, a first-round pick of the Browns in 1978 who became the All-Decade tight end for the 1980s, a long, graceful receiving threat with toughness and power who gradually blossomed into a dependable blocker.

Newsome was the complete package as a player. Fant could well be, too. Newsome’s success is the best-case long-term scenario.

In the medium term, the hope is that in the next two years, Fant’s production resembles that of George Kittle, his teammate at Iowa. Fant learned by watching Kittle at work in college. Now with the 49ers, Kittle has more receiving yardage the last two seasons than any tight end not named Travis Kelce, and did it in a similar offensive scheme to the one the Broncos run.

So from where Fant is now, having made it through the “whirlwind,” could Fant be the next tight end who emerges as a game-changing threat on the level of No. 1 wide receivers?

“That’s the goal to try to get to,” Fant said. “I’m not big into making projections or anything like that, but that’s definitely the goal, and I feel like I have the ability to get there.”

With a rookie season that puts him ahead of the curve, Fant appears to be well on his way.