Harold Fannin Jr. goes out in a blaze of NFL Draft glory

Fannin set a few season-long NCAA records for tight ends and tied the record for most catches in a game in his swan song

Harold Fannin Jr. was already a fairly prominent college football player even before Bowling Green’s bowl game. The Falcons tight end has been on the national radar and 2025 NFL Draft big boards all season.

After Fannin’s superhuman performance in BGSU’s matchup with Arkansas State in the 68 Ventures Bowl, even the casual observers are quickly learning about one of the best tight end prospects in the 2025 draft. Fannin and the Falcons might not have won the game, but the bowl — played in Mobile, Alabama — turned into a personal showcase for Fannin for scouts at the next level.

Playing in what’s almost certainly his last college game, Fannin caught 17 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown. The gaudy total against the Red Wolves pushed Fannin’s season totals to 117 receptions, 1,555 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The 117 catches and yardage totals each set new NCAA records for a tight end in a single season. The 17 receptions in the game tied the record for most by a tight end in a game, matching the feat of four others—including Penn State’s Tyler Warren earlier this year.

Warren is almost certainly the top tight end prospect in this draft class, but Fannin shouldn’t be too far behind. At 6-foot-4 and 230-ish pounds, the record-setting Fannin is an athletic pass-catching machine with good feet, great hands and a knack for creating after the catch. Fannin validated his credentials in Bowling Green’s matchup against Warren’s Nittany Lions back in September.

In that game, Fannin hauled in 11 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown. Warren went for 146 yards on eight catches in Penn State’s win. A week later, Fannin lit up Texas A&M for 145 yards on eight catches.

He saved the best for last, planting a tasty draft cherry on top of a sundae season full of highlight-reel catches and NFL potential. His official measurements (get over 235 pounds, please) and athletic testing, specifically burst and short-area agility, will determine how high Fannin goes in April.

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Breaking down the race for TE1 in the 2025 NFL Draft

Breaking down the race for TE1 in the 2025 NFL Draft between Colston Loveland, Tyler Warren and Harold Fannin Jr.

Who will be the first tight end selected in the 2025 NFL Draft?

It’s a tough question to answer as the end of the college football regular season approaches. There are three worthy aspirants to being the first tight end selected. At least it appears that way at this point — before athletic testing and all-star games.

The trio includes diversely skilled options: Colston Loveland from Michigan, Bowling Green’s Harold Fannin Jr. and Tyler Warren from Penn State. Each has played very well as his team’s primary offensive weapon, and they do it in divergent ways.

Loveland is probably the most well-rounded of the threesome. At 6-foot-5 and 245 listed pounds, Loveland has optimal size to play any role asked of a tight end. He’s shown impressive route running skills and an uncanny ability to catch off-target throws, of which he’s gotten a lot of unfortunate experience with Michigan in 2024. Loveland reliably gets open despite being the focal point of the passing offense, and he’s played all over the formation, including boundary wideout–and won battles there, too.

If a team values in-line blocking and run-blocking range highly, they’ll probably prefer Loveland over his peers. The improvement in his balance and leg drive give the Wolverine a slight boost here, though no one will ever mistake Loveland for a blocking tight end. Think Sam LaPorta or early David Njoku, and the latter has become an outstanding blocker over time. Loveland has that sort of developmental potential as a blocker, too.

Fannin doesn’t have the size of his fellow TEs here. Listed at 6-foot-4 and 230, he’s more of an Evan Engram or Trey McBride size/style of tight end. You’re forgiven if you watch BGSU and think that Fannin is a wide receiver; he runs routes and transitions from catcher to runner very much more like a wideout than a tight end. Fluidity, body control and focused strength are all hybrid-like skills for Fannin, who also has outstanding hands.

To call Fannin the focal point of the Bowling Green offense is an understatement. He has 83 catches for 1,170 yards and 8 TDs through November 21st; next on the team in all three categories is WR Malcolm Johnson, who has 36 catches for 393 yards and two TDs. Fannin is often bracketed but still finds ways to get into open windows.

For the Falcons, Fannin has also proven to be a strong point-of-contact run blocker and lead blocker on outside runs. Finding targets in space isn’t his specialty, but the effort is there. The bigger knock on Fannin is the level of competition in the MAC. However, he lit up both Penn State and Texas A&M this fall–again, despite being the obvious focal point on every snap.

Then there’s Warren, who takes positional versatility to a new level. The fact Warren is so great at so many different skills and alignments is truly impressive. What makes it even greater is that Warren does it at his size, all 6-foot-6 and 261 listed pounds.

Warren is a converted quarterback, and his ability to read defenses and angles from the eyes of his QB shows. He’s uncannily open against zones, but he also presents himself as a big target on comeback routes and drags against man coverage. Warren’s sense of leverage against the defense is outstanding. It shows in his opportunities as a runner, where he averages almost 10 yards per carry (157 yards on 16 carries) and has a distinct nose for the end zone and reading blocks.

After the catch, Warren is a long-legged load to bring down. He accelerates quite well for a tall guy, and he shrugs off or shoos away arm tackles or dives below the knees. He’s capable in the slot, as an H-Back, even as a wildcat QB. Warren does block like you’d expect from a guy who played QB through his formative football years, and his length does limit his quickness off the line and in breaks in route-running. Still, the progress Warren has shown from the end of 2022 to now is incredible.

Loveland, Fannin and Warren are all very strong prospects for the 2025 NFL Draft. There currently isn’t a wrong answer for an NFL team looking to add a premier weapon at tight end. The early guess here is that Warren winds up being the first TE taken.

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BGSU tight end Harold Fannin shows he’s a name to know for the 2025 NFL Draft

BGSU tight end Harold Fannin shows he’s a name to know for the 2025 NFL Draft with an amazing game against Penn State

Going back through the second weekend of college football proved to be an educational one for draft evaluation purposes. The sixth game on my review schedule was Bowling Green at Penn State, a game I caught very little of in real-time viewing.

I’m glad I went back to this game, and the biggest reason is BGSU tight end Harold Fannin. He’s only a junior but already has some draft buzz for 2025, and coming from a MAC school that speaks volumes about Fannin’s ability. In watching the 6-foot-4, 230-pound (listed measurements) versatile weapon, it was easy to see why.

My only prior exposure to Fannin was a brief appearance against Michigan in 2023, a game injured he left after just four offensive snaps. He missed the Falcons games against Ohio and Georgia Tech, the only other two BGSU games from last year I had seen.

He looks bulkier than the listed weight, especially when defenders are trying to tackle him in space. Fannin runs with some violence and power after the catch and does a good job of quickly getting north/south. That showed on his touchdown catch, a play where he also proved too fast across the field for linebackers to run with,

The Falcons used him all over hte formation, including a gadget play where Fannin got to show off his throwing arm–a deep pass that was on target and probably should have been a defensive pass interference call against Penn State. As an inline blocker, Fannin showed he can effectively chip before releasing into a route.

It’s unusual to see a tight end be the focal point of a passing offense, but that’s Fannin. He caught 11 of the 13 passes thrown his way and did so all over the field. Against Penn State, Fannin was at his best working the seams. There is zero fear of contact as a receiver, and his transition from receiver to runner is very reminiscent of players like Trey McBride of the Cardinals or David Njoku of the Browns.

Fannin should have a monster season as the Falcons get to the MAC schedule. The fact he lit up what appears to be a pretty good Penn State defense should attract more attention to a player whose draft stock is very upwardly mobile.