Previous Position Room
We will start by looking at how Andrew Berry's position room has been built to start the season each year:
2020 - Hooper, Njoku, Bryant, Carlson
2021 - Hooper, Njoku, Bryant
2022 - Njoku, Bryant, James
2023 - Njoku, Bryant, Akins
2024 - Njoku, Akins
2025 - Njoku, Fannin, Whiteheart
2026 - Fannin, Whiteheart, Ryan
Cash Spending Per Year
Here is the cash they have spend on the position room and the % of the salary cap:
2020 - $15,317,942 (7.73%)
2021 - $18,293,000 (9.00%)
2022 - $14,515,000 (6.97%)
2023 - $16,150,000 (7.18%)
2024 - $16,500,000 (6.46%)
2025 - $18,663,916 (6.68%)
2026 - $3,296,983 (1.09%)
Current Contracts
This looks at the cash in each players contracts and the amount of guarantees they have in their deals:
Harold Fannin
2026 - $1,146,495 (no guarantees)
2027 - $1,452,990 (no guarantees)
2028 - $1,759,485 (no guarantees)
Blake Whiteheart
2026 - $1,145,000 (no guarantees)
Joe Royer
2026 - $1,317,596 ($432,596 guaranteed)
2027 - $1,050,000 (no guarantees)
2028 - $1,165,000 (no guarantees)
2029 - $1,280,000 (no guarantees)
Carson Ryan
2026 - $1,005,488 ($120,488 guaranteed)
2027 - $1,050,000 (no guarantees)
2028 - $1,165,000 (no guarantees)
2029 - $1,280,000 (no guarantees)
Free Agency
Here is a look at the list of current unrestricted free agents sorted by the amount of snaps they have played so far this season:
The Draft
This chart shows the ages of the draft class at the time of the draft. Greens signifies the age of 66% of the prospects they have drafted in this range, yellow 33% and red is an age they have never taken in this range. So while it is unlikely they select a red player, it isn't impossible.
OBR VIP's can see my full October draft board with each position on it here.
Conclusion
The room starts with Harold Fannin who last year joined the top ten for the most receiving yards ny a rookie tight end in NFL history. The eight players ahead of him were selected in the top 15 picks other than Sam Laporta at 34. Making Fannin a massive steal at pick 67. Last year he was producing 46 yards per game on average, this has dropped to 31 in 2026. Partly due to more mouths to feed in the offense and also taking some time to get going but there is no reason he won't return to higher numbers late in the season and next year.
The big issue is his run blocking. While improved pass blocking would be beneficial, the amount of staying in to block that the modern tight end does now is minimal. What the Cleveland Browns really need to get to, is not having to take him out the game on run plays or leave him in there as a blocking liability. What he does in the blocking game will dictate if he is just a pumped up receiver like Kyle Pitts or if he can slightly improve his blocking then he can join a tier with someone like Trey McBride.
To this end they need to go out and aggressively target another tight end in free agency. Someone that can be a net positive in the blocking game. You ideally don't want to go out and get a one dimensional player either. Else it is clear to the defense whether it is a run or a pass based on which tight end is out there. This isn't a role they can leave to the draft like they tried to do this season. You don't know where players are going to get selected and it isn't a position you regularly see instant impact from outside the first round.
When it comes to the third tight end, they should be considering all options. The first two names to look at will be Joe Royer and Carsen Ryan, see if you have anything in either player come the end of the season. At the same time being back Blake Whiteheart to keep battling for a roster spot as he is a serviceable third tight end. Then also don't rule out selecting someone else too, it is a shame Terrance Carter is such an old prospect but maybe a later day three pick. Having three of four players battling for the depth of the roster is valuable. It also means if multiple impress you can potentially carry four next season rather than a special teams fullback as many teams are leaning into the tight end position more and more.
Final 53
Harold Fannin
Free Agent
Open Competition