DENVER BRONCOS



DENVER BRONCOS QUOTES (5/27/21)TIGHT END NOAH FANTOn if he's had an opportunity to work with QB Teddy Bridgewater during OTAs and his impressions of Bridgewater thus far?“I've gotten the chance to throw with Teddy these last couple days of OTAs. You can definitely tell that he's a vet. Ball placement and things like that are very important to him. He's been great for us—he and [QB] Drew [Lock] both. I'm excited to see them compete through camp and through the preseason to help our team be better.”On his response to OLB Von Miller calling him his favorite guy on the team“That meant a lot. Von has helped me through a lot over these last couple years. I remember my rookie year and him constantly talking to me and helping me through growing pains. This last year and everything I've been through these last couple months, he's been there for me. It meant a lot. I think we've become closer over my span here. I just want to maximize my potential on the field and be that household name that he is for the Broncos. Help lead a team and do all those things that he's so great at. Following in his footsteps in that aspect is something that would be very beneficial to me and the team. I'm definitely excited that he sees something in me. It's my job to take that and keep grinding and push harder because I have to prove it on the field.”On the key to taking the next step in his maturation process“Consistency. I think that's the biggest thing. I saw that last year, also. Like you said, if I can play that consistent and get those catches, make those blocks [and do] all that consistently throughout the season and do that all year long and be at my highest level of play, the sky is the limit. Consistency is a big word I've been focusing on this year. I'm starting to figure things out, starting to be more knowledgeable about the game and starting to get those vet aspects to what I'm doing. Now, it's just consistency. Consistently being at the top level of play amongst the league. I'm not just competing with myself. I'm competing with every tight end across the league. There's some good ones, so I have to step up to that level.”On how much WRs Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy can open up the middle of the field for him“A lot of people look at that as a negative. 'Oh, well it's going to be hard for everybody to get the ball.' Our offensive coordinator—Pat [Shurmur]—he does a great job with spreading the ball around. Like you said, those guys on the outside are going to open me up so much more than if it was just me trying to get open by myself. It's all a team game. I love having those guys on the field and I respect those guys. I respect when they get catches, and they respect when I get catches. We're all excited for each other. All that feeds off each other and we know that we're all going to get our moments. I'm excited to have them both back. That takes a lot of pressure off me and it takes a lot of pressure off the QBs. I think it's going to run pretty seamlessly when we get us all on the field.”On if he plans to participate in 49ers TE George Kittle's Tight End Summit this summer“I plan on going for sure. I've talked to George a little bit about it and I'm excited to go. I’m excited to learn from those guys. That's my biggest thing—try to take that moment to learn and see what those guys are doing and see how those guys see the game and learn from them in that aspect. It's kind of cool because Von does the pass-rush summit, so these guys are starting that tight end side of things. I think that's going to be very beneficial not only to me but all the tight ends across the league. I'm excited to do that.”On what it meant to have members of the Broncos' organization show up and support him at his mom's funeral and how he’s doing emotionally “It meant a lot. I wasn’t expecting all of them to come. I was talking to Ray Jackson, the head of our player development. I knew that he was going to come. He got everybody together and was able to get everybody to come. That meant a lot. I just so happened to be walking outside for a second before the service started and I saw all them coming in. It made me tear up and it made me get pretty emotional. It just shows how much they care, how much they care about me, how much they care about my family, and that it's not just all business. That meant a lot to me. I'm doing good, though. Just taking it a day at a time. I know that my mom would want me to keep working and keep grinding. She was always happy to see me on the field. [I'll] definitely use that as motivation for sure.”On how TE Albert Okwuegbunam has looked during his rehab and his expectations of Okwuegbunam in 2021“He's doing good. He's still on the rehab and doing all that stuff. He's progressing as he should, and he's been working. I'm excited for him. I've grown to get close with him and he's a good dude and a good kid. I'm excited to play with him. I think our whole tight end room is pretty good this year. We just picked up [TE] Eric [Saubert], who has been doing some really good things also. I’m really excited to play with these guys and excited to get on the field with them. Like I was touching on before, [we want to] progress as a team and do good things altogether. So, I'm excited.”On the relationship he had with his mom and the legacy she leaves behind“I was definitely a momma's boy for sure. [I was] very close with her. I talked to her pretty much every day. The relationship was always good. We went through growing pains as mom and son growing up, but she was always there for me. I loved her and we had a really good relationship. It's going to be a little bit different, obviously. Like I said before, just taking it a day at a time and not having her there. I've got all my other family, right? I've got my dad, I've got my brothers and sisters and all these people that are loving me, surrounding me and are there for me. I know that she's looking down in heaven upon me and is proud of what I'm doing. I'm going to keep grinding and keep pushing for her.”On if he believes the team will utilize two tight end formations this year?“I'm not totally sure about how much multiple tight end stuff we're going to use this year. That's up to the [offensive coordinator] and our tight ends coach (Wade Harman). We used it last year. Albert got in there and made some good plays for us. We were all able to cohabitate and move around and make good plays for each other. I think that there's definitely that possibility and definitely that potential for us both to get there. I'm excited for his progression and excited for him to keep getting better. Like I said before, our whole tight end room—you have Eric, you have Albert, you have Austin Fort. You got all these guys—Shaun Beyer just came in, [Andrew] Beck. You've got all these guys that are just about the team, are about grinding and that are about working hard and doing all these things. I'm excited to have all these guys here, man. We have a really good group. I'm happy to have them all here. I'm looking forward to that.”On if he believes his mom’s passing will be the defining moment in his career “I wouldn’t say that necessarily. Like you said, I've ran into some problems and ran into some injuries. My rookie year, I was running into some growing pains and all that stuff. This is one of those things that wasn’t expected to happen, but I definitely use that as motivation. The way I look at it is if I went off a cliff, how would that make my mom feel? How would that make my dad feel? They would want me to keep playing. I'm not going to necessarily say that's going to push me into the upper echelon, but that's always been goal, even before all this stuff happened with my mom. That was always a goal when talking with my mom and my dad. I want to get to top 5 in the league. I want to be competing with [Chiefs TE Travis] Kelce, Kittle, [Raiders TE Darren] Waller and all those guys. That's always been the goal and that's always what I'm pushing for. The ultimate goal is to be the best in the league. We have to work to get there, and that's what I've been doing.” ................
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