Purple Draft Profile: BGSU TE Harold Fannin Jr.
The Vikings may roster T.J. Hockenson and Josh Oliver, but past them, the depth at the position is lacking, and a tight end prospect like Harold Fannin Jr. could offer a long-term solution at the position, including TE1 down the road.
This lack of depth at the position becomes even more apparent when you factor in that Oliver is entering the final year of his deal, and his return to the Vikings seems unlikely if his contract is going to be anywhere near what Minnesota gave to him when he signed his first agreement with their team in the 2023 offseason.
Former TE3 Johnny Mundt just defected to Jacksonville, opening a spot for some consideration from the Vikings part when it comes to filling out this position room.
Thus, the Vikings could potentially look to the 2025 NFL Draft, specifically on days 2 or 3 of the event, to remedy this need.
Harold Fannin Jr. was born in Canton, Ohio, on the other side of the state of his alma mater, Bowling Green Falcons. His playing days in high school saw him playing safety and wide receiver at McKinley High School, a piece of evidence from the jump that the kid had the stuff on either side of the ball.
Earning First-Team All-Ohio honors as a safety, Fannin Jr. accumulated 106 tackles and multiple forced turnovers in his senior year of high school. Additionally, he showcased his offensive potential with 601 receiving yards and seven total touchdowns. These numbers don’t jump off the page, and thus, he would go unranked as a recruit.
His freshman year at Bowling Green was mostly quiet, but his sophomore year is when he started to generate some momentum. He would finish with 623 yards and 6 receiving touchdowns, as well as the highest overall grade at the tight end position in the nation at 85.8.
His junior season was when he exploded; 117 receptions for 1,555 yards made him the first TE in FBS history to lead the nation in both categories. He also led all tight ends in TD receptions with 9.
Fannin Jr. lined up all over the place in 2024;
- 43.6% of snaps inline
- 28.6% of snaps at slot receiver
- 27.8% of snaps out wide
He’s a smaller tight end at 6’4″ and roughly 230 lbs, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be utilized in the NFL; it’s fair to think he’s like an oversized WR. He probably wouldn’t play boundary receiver in the league, but teams could use him out of the slot, and he could flourish.
He possesses elite route running and footwork and can consistently obliterate man and zone coverage. Mixed with his ability to just straight-up defeat the coverage assignment, he’s almost as sure-handed as they get, as he only had two drops on 171 snaps in college. Not only did he lead all tight ends in the nation in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving TDs, but he also led them all in yards-after-catch (873) and broken tackles (34).
He’s definitely not a blocking tight end, but he isn’t a complete pushover either (no pun intended). He’s about as good of a blocker as he can be with his undersized composition for the position, and it’s because he understands the leverage he needs to take on blocking assignments.
The unfortunate major knock on Harold Fannin Jr. is the obvious one that he can’t control; he played in the MAC. Sadly, teams aren’t as sure of you if you’re on Bowling Green and playing against Toledo instead of being on Alabama and playing Georgia. The completion wasn’t there, and that could have contributed to some potential inflation in his overall numbers.
Still, whichever way you cut it, the Vikings need a TE3 and will soon need a TE2.
He’s a contrast to Josh Oliver: instead of being a glorified sixth offensive lineman, he’s a legitimate pass-catching threat who can play in a rotation in the short term as he awaits his chance to win TE2 sooner rather than later if the Vikings do decide to call his phone on day 2 and tell him how they’re spending Pick 97, or whatever pick they got in a trade, whether it be up or down.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.
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