ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Noah Fant did the math on his rank as the youngest of six children born and raised by computer software engineers Willie and Kathy Fant and realized there might be a mistake.
And the mistake wasn’t with his math.
"There was a pretty big gap," Fant, the Broncos’ tight end, said in a sit-down interview with 9News this week. "I was a surprise baby so the closest sibling to me is 10 years older than I am."
Noah is right. 'Surprise' is the word. Noah Fant is no mistake. Even if he missed out on the chance to play up against older siblings and their friends, Fant said there were advantages to growing up in “Omaha! Omaha!” as the youngest in a large family.
"Definitely, spoiled a little bit and definitely had older siblings to look up to also which was a great thing," he said.
So was the serendipitous period during his teenage years when a certain former Broncos quarterback brought fun-loving national attention to the Fants’ hometown of Omaha, Neb.
"Watching the game, you could hear him checking, audibling and heard him say, ‘Omaha, Omaha,’’’ said Fant, who was at Omaha South High School all four years Peyton Manning was the Broncos’ quarterback. "It was pretty cool. We had a high school that used it also playing so it was something pretty special.
"It was a great place to live. It’s one of those cities that’s not too big, not too small. I had a great time living there. I was part of a big family so knew a lot of people in Omaha."
There are expectations for NFL rookies, which isn’t much, and expectations for first-round picks, which is quite a lot. For Fant, who has superior receiving skills for a 6-foot-4,249-pound tight end, 40 catches and 500 yards at season’s end would be just about right.
He’s a tad beyond that through four games with 11 catches for 130 yards, a 16-game projection of 44 receptions and 520 yards.
Not that he’s satisfied with his first month in the NFL, which has been accompanied by four consecutive team losses.
"For me personally, it’s been kind of a slow start," he said. “I definitely think there’s more to come, there’s more that I can do. It’s progressing in our offense. It’s a complicated offense, especially for the tight end group. You have to know a lot of stuff. It’s just getting more comfortable in the offense, getting more comfortable playing and each week getting a little bit better.”
It's that type of pursuit of perfection that explains why Fant was able to bounce back from his fumble at Green Bay to an enthralling, 25-yard catch-and-run touchdown against Jacksonville last week.
Already, Fant has made some impressive catches that have not been seen by a Broncos’ tight end since Julius Thomas in 2013 and the first half of 2014.
“That’s the fun part,’’ Fant said. “But there’s also been some plays that weren’t so fun that I have to improve on. It’s a been great just kind of learning and progressing as we go.”
Although his dad was a huge Nebraska Cornhusker fan, Noah grew up unattached and picked the University of Iowa among the many programs that recruited him.
“I just loved watching football so I watched all kinds of different teams," Fant said. "What kind of helped me in my recruiting process was I didn’t have any bias. I visited each school for what they were. Iowa was the best fit for me and I was able to go there and have a good career."
He had a unique three years for the Hawkeyes in that, one, he didn’t redshirt as a freshman and turned pro after his junior season. And, two, he was the backup to George Kittle as a freshman and by definition the backup to T.J. Hockenson as a sophomore and junior -- yet Fant was also a first-team All-Big Ten selection and third-team All American.
He’s adjusting to professional football better than most.
"It’s a little different atmosphere," he said. "In college, you usually live with those guys. You have roommates that are on the team. Here, everyone has families and goes home. So it’s a little different in that aspect but at the end of the day we all get to play football and do what we love and we come in and have a great time with each other.
"Yeah, it’s a job but also you’re getting to play the game you love for a living. You definitely spend more time doing just football. But that comes with the territory."
Like Vic Fangio as a head coach and second-round rookie left guard Dalton Risner, Fant has been waiting longer than expected for his first NFL win. The Broncos are 0-4 entering today’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers in Carson, Calif.
"It’s a team effort," Fant said. "We have to clean things up and get better. I’ve been part of teams that had rough starts. We’re just trying to clean up all the mistakes and get our first win."
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