Browns Harold Fannin Jr. eyeing rookie record

The Cleveland Browns may be playing out another disappointing season, but there are still a couple of individual milestones to play for before the regular season comes to a close.

Defensive end Myles Garrett is getting national attention as he nears the record for most sacks in a season. Currently sitting at 20, Garrett is just three sacks away from surpassing the record of 22.5, co-held by Michael Strahan of the New York Giants and T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

While it is not on the level of a league-wide record, tight end Harold Fannin Jr. is drawing closer to setting a new standard for rookie receivers on the team’s franchise record list.

Fresh off a big day against the Tennessee Titans, where he had eight receptions for 114 yards, Fannin is leading the Browns in receptions (59), receiving yards (619), and is tied with fellow tight end David Njoku with four touchdowns. Entering this weekend’s slate of games, Fannin is second among all NFL rookies in receptions and is fourth in receiving yards.

Speaking of those 59 receptions, Fannin is now just eight receptions away from setting a franchise record for catches by a rookie in a single season. He is currently fourth on the list, trailing wide receiver Greg Little (61 receptions in 2011), running back Duke Johnson (61 receptions in 2015), and wide receiver Kevin Johnson (66 in 1999).

The bar for tight ends in Cleveland is high, with everyone trying to hold up when compared to Ozzie Newsome, who carved out a Hall of Fame career over 13 seasons with the Browns. But in all those seasons, Newsome only had 60 or more receptions in a season four times.

That is not to imply that Fannin will have a similar career; he is only 13 games into his rookie season after all, but Fannin is the only rookie tight end in franchise history besides Newsome to have a 100-yard receiving game in his first season, so he does share one notable achievement with his Hall-of-Fame predecessor.

There are four games to go this season, and with the chemistry Fannin has developed with rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders (15 receptions for 197 yards in the past three games), the rookie record is well within Fannin’s reach.