Noah Fant
Fant is the No. 2 tight end in a three-man rotation behind Juwan Johnson: he plays a lot of snaps, but his target volume is small and depends on touchdowns.
Role
Week 5 vs. Minnesota: PFF snap counts via Athlon had Fant at 30 of 45 snaps (67%), Johnson at 29 (64%) and Oscar Delp at 17 (38%). Fant had one target in that game. Week 6, per DraftSharks (1 day ago): Fant and Johnson each played 42 snaps and Delp played 31. Fant ran only 12 routes and Delp ran 3, while Johnson ran 17 and was targeted twice. Johnson is still described as the receiving tight end. Through three games Fant had 12 targets (8 catches, 66 yards, 3 TDs), per CBS/Rotowire. He missed Week 4 with an abdominal injury and has no current designation. Treyton Welch is a reserve tight end. I did not find a Week 6 target count for Fant.
Tyler Shough looks for Fant near the goal line. He scored in Week 1 and caught all four of his Week 2 targets for two touchdowns. His snap share is now at or near Johnson's. Fox/Rotowire says Shough favors bigger-bodied targets, and FantasyFootballCalculator notes the offense is high-powered and fast-paced. That makes him a possible deep-league or touchdown-dependent option.
Snaps are not routes. Fant ran just 12 routes in Week 6 despite 42 snaps, which suggests he is used partly as a blocker in heavy sets. His Week 5 target total was one. He also had the lowest offensive PFF grade on the unit that game (39.8), with two penalties. His early production came from touchdowns on few targets, and three tight ends are splitting the work.
Where analysts split
The question is whether Fant's snap growth becomes real target volume or stays blocking-heavy work. The early optimists pointed to his red-zone chemistry with Shough. The snap and route data from Weeks 5 and 6 show Johnson still leading the receiving role. I found no analyst arguing Fant has overtaken Johnson as the receiving tight end.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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