Big Blue View
Is Fannin the most versatile offensive weapon in the class?
One of the interesting features of the 2025 NFL Draft is the number of good players coming from unexpected locations.
Not only is it a testament to the work done by recruiting services and smaller schools to uncover talent, but it’s to NFL scouts putting in the work to evaluate small programs that might previously have been overlooked.
Harold Fannin Jr. might have gone to Bowling Green — hardly a football powerhouse — but he might also be one of the premier offensive weapons in this year’s draft. He’s incredibly versatile, contributing as a blocker and shining as a receiver from all over the Bowling Green offensive formation.
And while he isn’t big, nor an incredibly dynamic athlete, but he still racked up 1,555 yards and 10 touchdowns on 117 receptions. He’s a threat to all three levels and is also a very capable player with the ball in his hands.
Could Fannin Jr. be an X-factor for the New York Giants offense if the value lines up?
Prospect: Harold Fannin Jr. (0)
Games Watched: vs. Penn State (2024), vs. Toledo (2024), vs. Western Michigan (2024)
Best traits
Harold Fannin Jr. is an exceptionally versatile tight end prospect who lined up all over the Bowling Green offensive formation.
He took snaps at in-line and detached tight end, slot receiver, wide receiver, and H-back. His versatility is thanks to a 6-foot-3, 241-pound frame that, while not ideal for any one position, allows him to execute at a huge variety of positions. Fannin has enough size to play out of the backfield or as a tight end, while also having the quickness, agility, and body control to execute as a slot or wide receiver.
Fannin is a very savvy route runner who has an efficient release package, which allows him to quickly slip contact at the line of scrimmage and get into his routes with no wasted energy or movement. He runs a broad route tree and was used at all three levels. He’s a precise and savvy route runner who understands both coverage schemes and how route concepts attack them.
He does a great job of finding the open field as well as manipulating his routes to create separation. Fannin will bend his route stem, use a variety of head and body fakes, or press his stem into defenders before breaking – all to create separation opportunities at the top of his routes. Conversely, he also understands how to use his routes to create traffic to help his teammates.
Fannin has very good ball skills, doing a great job of locating and tracking the ball in the air, making adjustments to maximize his receiving window, and extending to pluck the ball away from his body. Fannin frames the catch well and has very soft hands to make tough catches in traffic....
