Noah Fant

Pete Ruden, Sports Editor

If you’re an NFL general manager in need of a tight end, congrats — you’ve come to the right place.

But being an NFL general manager also comes with its caveats, such as deciding whether to pick T.J. Hockenson or Noah Fant in the NFL Draft.

While Hockenson is certainly an all-around tight end ready to take on the league right now, Fant may be the better option in a pass-heavy offense.

In a league that relies on the air attack, Fant projects as a matchup nightmare — a big-bodied tight end with speed who is too fast for a linebacker to cover but too big for a defensive back.

In the past two seasons, Fant has hauled in 69 passes for 1,013 yards, and 18 touchdowns with fairly consistent stat lines across the two years.

He scored 19 touchdowns in his career, the most for a tight end in Hawkeye history and the third-most among Big Ten tight ends all-time.

Over the past two years, Fant has scored numerous touchdowns in a game four times. He’s a scoring machine, whether it’s catch-and-run or in the red zone.

At the same time, though, Hockenson is a monster in the ground game and has playmaking ability as well.

Either way, it will be next to impossible for a GM to mess this pick up. But in today’s pass-happy NFL, Fant might be the better option.