Jaguars Should Kick the Tires on Veteran TE Noah Fant

The Seattle Seahawks might have done the Jacksonville Jaguars a favor on Sunday. The Seahawks waived starting tight end Noah Fant ahead of the start of training camp.

The Jaguars are in desperate need of a starting tight end who can block and catch passes. They have three tight ends on the roster who just do not fit the bill. Ever since they waived Evan Engram this spring, they have never brought in a replacement. Fant could be the guy.

If the Jaguars want to round out their offense and put another weapon on the field, they should invest in Fant.

Fant was a first-round selection of the Denver Broncos in the 2019 NFL Draft. He spent the last three seasons in Seattle, coming over in the trade that sent Russell Wilson to Denver. Over the past three seasons, Fant appeared in 48 games for Seattle and made 42 starts. He accumulated 1,400 yards on 130 receptions and scored five touchdowns.

Fant was nothing more than a salary-cap casualty. He can still play the game. Fant was scheduled to earn $8.91 million in base salary this season. He became expendable with the drafting of second-round pick Elijah Arroyo and the addition of free agent Eric Saubert.

The Jaguars, meanwhile, have three tight ends on their depth chart and there is not a quality starter among the three of them. They have Brenton Strange, Johnny Mundt and Hunter Long as their three-deep tight ends. Fant would come in and start immediately and be an upgrade at the position.

Strange entered the league in 2023 as a second-round pick from Penn State, but has not materialized as hoped. He has a total of 45 receptions for 446 yards and three touchdowns over two seasons. Granted, he played in Engram's shadow, but the Jaguars run a lot of two-tight end sets and he still did not see the ball that much.

Mundt is an eight-year veteran who came over from Minnesota in free agency. He has a total of 65 receptions on 84 targets. He has 547 career yards and four scores. Long was a third-round selection of the Miami Dolphins in 2021. He has a total of eight receptions for 68 yards. He has never scored a touchdown despite appearing in 37 games.

Fant clearly fills a need. As Travis Hunter and Brian Thomas, Jr. can race down the field on the perimeter, Fant can split the seam and give Trevor Lawrence an additional weapon on offense. Tight end is the weakest point on the Jaguars offense and Fant would definitely be an immediate upgrade.

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