Joe Royer

Harold Fannin Jr. is entrenched as Cleveland's TE1 after posting 72 receptions in 2025. Royer joins a crowded room (Stoll, Whiteheart, Prieskorn) with essentially no clear path to meaningful targets in the near term.

Selected 170th overall (5th round), Royer carries the historically poor hit rate of Day 3 TE picks. NFL teams rarely invest premium usage in late-round TEs unless the depth chart forces their hand.

Cleveland's passing game is unsettled with Shedeur Sanders and rookie Taylen Green in the QB mix, capping the ceiling of any secondary pass-catcher on the roster.

After breaking Cincinnati's single-season TE reception record with 50 catches in 2024, Royer's production dipped to roughly 2.2 catches per game in 2025 — a red flag heading into the draft process.

Royer opted out of the NFL Combine and his school's Pro Day, choosing a private workout instead. This limits public measurables data and may signal some agents/team concerns, though the Browns still selected him.

If Harold Fannin Jr. suffers an injury, Royer is a capable fallback receiver at 6'5"/247 lbs with legitimate receiving chops. This is a low-probability but meaningful upside path.

David Njoku signed with the Chargers, removing an established veteran and leaving a genuinely open TE2 competition that a rookie can realistically win for snaps.

Browns GM Andrew Berry specifically cited Royer's ability to line up as both an inline Y and receiving F, suggesting he could be schemed into a flex role even behind Fannin Jr.