Harold Fannin Jr. Fantasy Football Start or Sit Advice for Week 4

Harold Fannin Jr. Start or Sit Advice for Week 4

Thursday Night Football is a fun AFC North grudge match between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns. Both teams are 2-1 coming into the 8:15 p.m. ET kickoff at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland. One offensive option who has been productive for the surprisingly effective Browns passing game has been tight end Harold Fannin Jr. Should the second-year tight end be in your lineup for Week 4? Let’s take a look at whether it makes sense to start or sit Fannin this week.

Fannin has played over 80% of snaps in each of the Browns’ three games this season and is the clear top option at the position. There really isn’t much of a secondary pass catcher at the position, and Fannin’s competition for production actually comes more from the receivers, who can take his targets rather than another tight end taking his playing time.

In his three games this season, Fannin is second on the team with 18 targets, landing right between promising rookie receivers KC Concepcion (20 targets) and Denzel Boston (15 targets). Fannin also ranks second on the team with 126 receiving yards. His production has been fairly steady, with 21 yards in Week 1 followed by 54 and 51 yards in Week 2 and Week 3. He gave his fantasy value a huge boost in Week 3, though, by finding the end zone twice to earn 24.1 FPTS and finish as the No. 5 tight end for the week.

Last season as a rookie, Fannin had seven catches for 81 yards in his first game against the Steelers and followed that up with two catches for 30 yards and a touchdown in their rematch. He was a solid fantasy option in both contests, and he should be a top-10 TE coming into this week’s game since Deshaun Watson has played so much better the last two weeks, relying on Fannin as one of his primary options.

The Steelers have allowed 10 catches for 120 yards and a touchdown to tight ends over the last two weeks against the Patriots and Bengals, so there definitely should be space for Fannin to operate in over the middle.

With a 22.0% target share and 77.8% catch rate, Fannin is a great option for single-game DFS contests like the NFL Showdown $1.5M Thursday Night Showdown [$500K to 1st] (PIT @ CLE). His salary of $7,400 in a FLEX spot makes him a very solid option to include, and even possibly to consider at a Captain’s Pick if you think he’ll get into the end zone again this week.

Fannin should also be started in most season-long leagues, unless you have an elite option. He is a low-end TE1 and should be able to continue that production on Thursday against Pittsburgh.

Start or Sit: Start Harold Fannin Jr.