Noah Fant - 2019 NFL Draft Scouting Report

With the Chicago Bears eliminated a couple weeks ago, it is officially NFL Draft season. Since the Bears (smartly) don't have any of their picks for this draft, I'm not sure how interested I will be in the top names, and ultimately, this quarterback class isn't all that inspiring at first glance either, so for right now, I only know that I am going to focus on one thing: The Iowa Hawkeyes. I am starting with the guy that seems to be the consensus top guy coming out of Iowa this year, Tight End, although not the Tight End that won the Mackey Award, Noah Fant. I checked out his games against Penn State in 2018, and then his 2017 games against Ohio State and Iowa State.

I should start that even though there was the dig about the Mackey Award, I do not blame Fant for that as Iowa GREATLY underutilized Fant this season. They called him a specialist, but his specialty is being a large super athletic target for the quarterback who is also at least good enough at blocking in the run game.

Check out the way he clears out the linebacker on this run play. He does have some misses in blocking, but I do think he is at least average and just gets underrated due to how good of a blocker Hockenson is, because it is nearly impossible to separate the two.

Is Noah Fant athletic?

Yes, Noah Fant is athletic. He not only blows by the safety because of a bad angle, he was only building distance as he got further down field. Also, watching 2017 film reminded me that Nate Stanley could not complete a deep ball to save his life that year.

If Stanley waits another beat and keeps his eyes open, Fant is wide open down the middle of the field for an easy touchdown here.

The key is that Fant accelerates so quickly that linebackers are going to have absolute hell trying to keep up with him, especially on a double move.

In fact, it is not going to be easy for anybody to keep up with Fant if he has the chance to accelerate in the open field.

Check out the acceleration as he crosses the field. First, he outruns a safety who tries to dive at his feet, and then he EASILY gets the corner on a linebacker who is also in pursuit.

One thing that didn't show up in the games I watched but was something that was a concern of mine were easy drops from Fant. Matt Waldman does a great job of breaking it down in this video.

I do think some of his technique needs to be refined to make more consistent catches, but at the same time, the guy made some pretty impressive catches as well.

Still, the most frustrating part of watching Iowa this season was not how few times they threw to Fant, but how few times they even looked his way. It is a massive coaching blunder to not design more plays for their most dangerous weapon.

I always supported Noah Fant, but seeing how effective Hockenson was in comparison to Fant did make me lose sight of how good he really was when Iowa actually targeted him. Basically all of their best performances coincided with Fant actually getting thrown the ball. He's really freaking good. Also, everybody is expecting him to blow up the combine with ridiculous athletic testing scores.

There are two names that come to mind when looking at Fant. The first is arguably the best tight end in football, Travis Kelce. Fant does have that kind of upside. At the same time, the name that really clicks with me is Eric Ebron. The fun thing about that comparison is I don't know if it's a compliment or not. If you ask Lions fans, it's a horrific diss, because drops and inconsistency marred his time with them despite his incredible athletic gifts. But if you ask Colts fan, he's a top-five tight end who can stress defenses down the middle of the field. I think the latter is a very likely outcome for Fant, but his raw talent gives him a chance to be the best tight end in football.

4 Takeaways from the Iowa / Wisconsin Game

Obviously, last night's game was not the outcome we were hoping for, but Iowa lost to a tough team. The season is far from over, and the Hawkeyes gave fans plenty to be excited for during the rest of the season. Here are my four big takeaways from the game.

The Defensive Line Is Good, Not Big
Wisconsin showed a major flaw in the defense in this game, and that is that the Iowa defensive line, although fantastic, is also undersized. There is probably no better team in the country to expose that weakness, and Wisconsin did by overpowering Iowa up front into a very effective run game. Even when Iowa was able to get Wisconsin to third downs, many were short enough distance that the defensive line couldn't totally pin their ears back and go hunting for a quarterback. Penn State is probably the only other team remaining on the schedule that could expose this weakness, and even they tend to run with more speed/misdirection rather than power.

Also, there is nothing more exciting than seeing AJ Epenesa on the field during a third down passing situation. I usually stand up despite being at my house watching the game by myself.

In other news, I really need friends.

Nate Stanley Was Incredible
This may have been the best game I have seen Nate Stanley play. Although his final stat line of 14-23 for 256 yards, two touchdowns and an interception isn't going to jump off the page, I saw so much to love from Stanley in this game. His movement when he felt a rush was much better as he actually looked downt he field after escaping trouble and was able to make some big plays because of it. When he was able to set his feet, he was able to deliver some beautiful throws down the field, and he showed good decision making throughout the game. His footwork still needs to improve on some throws, but I saw some major progress, and if he can start playing near this level on a consistent basis, Iowa is not scary, they are SCARY.

Playcalling Was Not The Issue
Every football fan also doubles as the world's greatest offensive coordinator. It's truly amazing how great Iowa would be if they would just hire a fan to call the plays. They would have never run (insert play that did not work). I think the biggest examples were the quarterback sneak on fourth and one, and the jet sweep on third and five in Wisconsin territory. For the former, I have no issue with hit. That quarterback sneak has been money for Iowa, and it's statistically one of the smartest plays to run in that situation. If it worked 100% of the time, every team would run it all the time. It didn't work that time, but that doesn't make it a bad call.

I will say that I did not like the jet sweep, but the call itself was fine. My big issue was the formation they ran it out of. Without a running back in the backfield, the linebacker was free to follow Sargent going across the formation. If there is a running back in the backfield, he can't completely abandon the middle of the field, and that would have given Sargent the lead he needed to hit the edge and make it upfield.

Also, let's give props to the second touchdown to Noah Fant. Fant going in motion and just running to the flat is impossible to stop in man coverage, so if you see the guy in coverage running across, it is a guaranteed six points. I love that play.

Iowa Has Legit Talent
Iowa did not lose this game, because Wisconsin was too talented for them. They lost because they made some big mistakes on punt returns, and failed to capitalize on opportunities at the end of drives. But Iowa looked like the better team. Mistakes happen, and Iowa's proved costly. Still, this team is good, and if Wisconsin stumbles, Iowa has the talent to be nipping at their heels for B1G West supremacy.

Even after a loss, I'm excited for the rest of the season. That's a pretty good spot to be for Hawkeye fans.