Fant has added muscle and is embracing offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur's new offense, which the sophomore tight end describes as more nuanced and able to exploit mismatches, Troy Renck of Denver 7 News reports.
Much has been made of what new weaponry -- Melvin Gordon, Jerry Jeudy, and KJ Hamler -- can do for the Broncos offense and Drew Lock's first full season. But, with a year of development, Fant should have every opportunity to be the second major threat in the passing game behind Courtland Sutton. Fant finished second on the team in receiving yards (562), targets (66) and touchdowns (three) as a rookie. However, he faded down the stretch and -- despite a monster 113-yard performance against Houston in Week 14 -- saw his targets per game drop sharply once Lock entered the fold Week 13 (4.7 versus 2.8). Shurmur has experience with athletic tight ends from his time with Evan Engram in New York, and with improved chemistry with Lock, there's reason to be optimistic about Fant's sophomore campaign.