After trading their 10th overall pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Denver Broncos used the 20th overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft to select Iowa tight end Noah Fant.
Fant (6-4, 249 pounds) ran a 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds and bench-pressed 225 pounds 20 times at the combine earlier this offseason. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein has compared Fant to Eric Ebron, who earned a Pro Bowl selection with the Indianapolis Colts last season.
During his three years with the Hawkeyes, Fant hauled in 78 receptions for 1,083 yards and 19 touchdowns. He was widely considered the second-best tight end in this year’s class, behind his teammate T.J. Hockenson.
Fant will likely become the team’s new No. 1 tight end right away. He will join a tight end room that includes Jake Butt, Troy Fumagalli and Jeff Heuerman.
Denver is scheduled to make three more selections on Friday: Nos. 41 and 52 in the second round and No. 71 in the third round. The team has nine total selections this year (view their complete draft order here).
