Tight Ends Coach Christian Jones (8.1.25)
David (Njoku) and Harold’s (Fannin Jr.) are physical guys. What do you learn about them when you go live like the other day?
“A lot of things. I think you see how strong Dave (Njoku) is, how his physical traits really help him in the blocking game, but also how his physicality helps him get open in the passing game, because guys see him moving so fast to get to his blocks, to get on guys, to get on defensive ends that they assume he’s just blocking, and then he’s out. His speed helps him get open. When you get full pads on, everybody’s moving slower, but you’ve got more to grab onto, more to push off of. I think that helps him get open down the field. As far as Harold (Fannin Jr.) goes, you see a balanced player, somebody who’s willing to strike, somebody who’s willing to get up on somebody, put his hands on him, lean his shoulder into somebody, get lower than them, lift them up out of the ground, lift them up out of the ground, lift them up out of the pads, move them out of the gap. I think you’re watching somebody that’s willing to do multiple things and is able to do multiple things, and I think that’s really going to help us down the season.”
How do you think the differences between David (Njoku) and Harold (Fannin Jr.) might end up complementing each other and your offense?
“Great question. They’re different in a lot of ways. Dave (Njoku) offers a lot more physicality, a bigger body, right? A bigger target for the quarterback to play the ball to. He’s still fast enough to get open down the field. I think Harold (Fannin Jr.) offers you something different, right? Somebody who can be in the backfield, run routes out of the backfield, block out of the backfield, line up at number one, run a route, reverses, a corner. So, you’ve got a lot of versatility from those guys and you have a willingness from them to do those things. I think that’s what helps an offense. If a guy says, I’m not doing this, then that takes catches or touches away from themselves. I don’t want to block on this play. Well, we can use you on this pass or this play action. So, I think you’ve got two guys that are really willing, and that only makes our job easier when it comes to playing games.”
Going back to that live drill (Wednesday), Harold (Fannin Jr.) had a real nice running catch. I know scouts talked about that when you drafted him. Have you seen other examples of how good he can be with the ball in his hands?
“I would say that’s the first thing we saw when we were watching him on college film, is how good he was with the ball in his hands. His instincts for setting up blocks, I think that’s something to see on that long play he had where he leaned the defender into the block and then cut right underneath. That’s something you see with him. He’s got vision, he’s able to run with the ball and he’s a one-cut runner. He doesn’t bounce around, dance around, he’s trying to get the yards that he can and get downfield. I think somebody asked me this a while ago, right? That adds up. That becomes a successful season, because those quick decisions add up to more yards, more plays and hopefully more wins for the team.”
Christian (Jones), David (Njoku) and Joe Flacco had such a nice chemistry in 2023. I know David (Njoku) has such a big personality, and you posted some videos of him and Joe sitting there laughing. How have you seen those guys interact and continue that so far?
“I think it’s a mutual respect. I think it’s something where Dave (Njoku) really respects Joe (Flacco) and he leans on him for a lot of things. I think that’s something that has been good to see, right? He has a role model that he respects and trusts, and that’s always something you like to see, even for an eight-year vet. Somebody who’s been in the league that long, he still looks for guidance, looks for guys to bounce ideas off of. He’s a very sociable person, so him getting Joe Flacco out there, hanging out with him is always great to see. That means you’ve got a close team.”
Have you seen David (Njoku) bring Harold (Fannin Jr.) along since he’s been here?
“I would say the whole tight end group has done that. I think everybody in the group has come together and taken on working with him, helping him out, helping him learn what it means to be a pro. I think it’s on Harold (Fannin Jr.) too, right? He’s got to make the decision to be a professional player and do everything that they do to be a pro, whether it’s in the building or outside the building. So, he’s got great role models in that room. He’s got Brenden Bates, who’s in his second year, Blake’s (Whiteheart) in his third, Dave’s (Njoku) in his eighth. Sal (Cannella) has been playing ball for so long. He’s been in and out, and he’s been doing it for a long time. So, he’s got a lot of guys to lean on and ask questions, and I think that’s only going to benefit him.”
What is the energy that David (Njoku) brings do for you guys as you’re going through camp?
“He breaks the monotony. You walk in that room, you never know what’s going to happen. The energy he’s going to bring, what he’s going to say, what he’s going to do, and it benefits everybody, right? Because you get used to hearing me talk. It starts to sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher, right? It’s just a bunch of murmurs, and you’re like, I can’t do this anymore. You start to doze off, and then your eyes start closing, and he’ll pop in with some energy. He’ll turn on a rock song, and he’ll start dancing around and getting other guys up, and it helps break the monotony. I can do what I can, but players have to find their own way out of it, and he does it for them, and that’s super helpful.”
How much are you looking forward to seeing Harold (Fannin Jr.) in preseason games, and what are you looking for in those outings?
“I just want to see him go compete. I just want to see him compete, see him go out, strike guys that are in different colored jerseys than him. I want to see him show what he can do with the ball in his hands. He’s a very balanced runner. So now you’re facing somebody that’s really going to try and tackle you and bring you down. There’s no rules. We don’t have the same rules out on this field as we do out there. So, are you going to make that tough catch when the ball is in the air and somebody’s coming at you? Are you going to make that one cut and get up the field, or are you going to dance around and lose us four or five yards? So, I think that’s something I’m looking forward to seeing.”
What’s something that you’ve seen in Harold (Fannin Jr.) that you didn’t expect coming out of college at Bowling Green and when he got to camp?
“Great question. I would say the depth of knowledge that he has and that he leans on… You meet with him and you’re like; I can tell this guy’s smart. You can tell he thinks through things very well. I think it’s more so because he played safety in high school before he got to college to play tight end. So, he leans on a lot of his defensive knowledge for how he plays. I’ll watch film and ask like, what would you be thinking if you’re that safety? And he’ll give you an answer quick. He’s able to lean on a lot of his experience to help him be an effective player, and that’s super encouraging.”
Chemistry is one thing, but how can your unit specifically help these quarterbacks – four quarterbacks – in this competition, help them come along, get the most out of them as they’re looking for that week one starter. What can your unit do?
“We do our job. That is it. We cannot worry about who’s throwing the ball. We worry about our route, our assignment and getting our job done. That is it. If we’re worried about who’s throwing us the ball or who’s up for this period or who’s up for this play, like, that’s losing football. It shouldn’t matter who’s throwing you the ball. Like, we’re out there to do our job no matter who’s out there. And I think that’s the most important thing we can do. Because also, if I go out there, I run the wrong route, quarterback’s looking to throw me the ball; that’s a wasted rep for him. So, you can’t take food out of other people’s mouths to feed yourself. You got to worry about what you’re doing and that’s it.”
How much does it help your guys? We talk about it with Dawand Jones a lot, but your guys, how much does it help them to be going against Myles Garrett and having to help out with him and figure out how to help that left tackle out?
“When you’re playing a 99-rated player on Madden, one of the best players in the league as a rusher, that only makes you better. And it can get a little demoralizing when you’re losing a lot and you’re like, ‘oh my God.’ But you also watch them go out there and do it against everybody else, and you can realize that you’re getting better because you’re playing somebody so good. Competition breeds competition. Competition makes everybody better. And I think when you have the opportunity to go against such a great player, it’s only going to raise your confidence when you win – win that rep. So, I think that’s always something – I’m super happy to have him on our team. It only helps us. Only helps us.”
Earlier in the off season, I talked to Alex Bayer, his Harold’s (Fannin Jr.) coach at Bowling Green, and he sort of just talked about when he transitioned – he didn’t play tight end in high school – to tight end. One of the things that he really noticed was just how quickly he kind of picked up on things. Are there some examples of that that you’ve seen with Harold (Fannin Jr.), he’s a quick learner, is he learning fast at this stage?
“Yeah, I had to get used to how he learns. But I mean, you walk him through something, once you tell him something once, you show him some film, you get him out there, get him moving and doing it, and he’ll have it locked in. He takes good notes, he really focuses in, he pays attention. And I think it’s just -you tell him something, he locks it in, he’s ready to go, done and what he doesn’t do is make the same mistake twice. And that’s really encouraging. That means somebody’s learning and locking things in and remembering it for the next time they have to apply. So, I think that’s something that’s been really, really fun to see.”
In college, it was obvious on the tape how great of a pass catcher he was. What are you guys looking for in him to sort of develop him more as like a blocker as well?
“He’s actually a really good blocker. He’s stronger than you would think. He’s very solid. And what he does really good is he has really good hand placement. I mean, he naturally puts his hands right on the breastplate. His hands are usually always inside, and he has good feet. So, I would say it’s just him continuing to bulk up, continuing to get stronger and grow as he’s still developing. He just turned 21 about two weeks ago or something like that. It’s him developing and aiding in his development as a physical person, as a body. And that’s what I’m looking for. As far as a blocker, there’s always little things. It’s loading your outside foot to get gain ground on the first step. It’s always a little details with blocking that can help him, but he’s got the basics down, and that’s something you can work with.”
David (Njoku) and Harold (Fannin Jr.) are two great pass catching tight ends. What do you think having them both on the field at the same time potentially could do for this offense?
“They’re great pass catchers, but they’re also great blockers, and I think that helps more so than just being a great pass catcher. It’s a great question, but if you got two guys out there that can do both things, then the defense doesn’t know how to line up. They don’t know what personnel to put out there, what coverage to play. And that only helps the offense. So, I’d say that’s the biggest part of it is that they can both. They can do both and that helps everybody on the field.”
Kind of going off that, how does that supplement the quarterbacks in helping them have more options on the field, running back or wide receiver?
“That’s a good question. It means more breather plays for the quarterback. That means that he can take his mind off. We can hand the ball off, let it run, let him have a breather play. We can go with an RPO. We can go with a naked. That’s more of a breather play. He has more options for play calls. He doesn’t have to worry about, Hey, I got to worry about this drop back pass’ or every time we’re in this personnel, we’re dropping back. We can do anything out of that personnel, which makes his job easier because it makes the defense’s job harder.”
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