Kansas City met with a Bowling Green tight end; here’s what to know

The junior from Bowling Green told Kay Adams he would meet with the Chiefs.

Recently, while he was a guest on “Up and Adams” with Kay Adams, 20-year-old tight end Harold Fannin Jr. revealed that he recently visited with the Kansas City Chiefs on a top-30 visit.

There is no arguing with the Bowling Green tight end’s production in 2024.

Fannin led the nation with 117 receptions and 1,555 receiving yards. But calling Fannin a tight end prospect might be a little misleading: at 6’3” and 241 lbs., he is somewhat undersized to line up in a three-point stance as an in-line blocker at the next level.

And while his strength certainly shows up in the effort he gives and at the point of attack, when running routes in the open field, so does his lack of agility and speed.

Background

Fannin was an unranked, zero-star linebacker recruit out of McKinley High School in Canton, Ohio, where he was a multi-sport athlete who played both football and baseball. Fannin played safety and wide receiver and returned kicks while at McKinley, and he only made the switch to tight end once he arrived in Bowling Green.

Growing up, Fannin idolized fellow Ohio native LeBron James, whom he saw as a role model who gave back to his community. This idea was partially imprinted on Fannin as a child, when he received a bike as part of a community outreach James did for kids in the Canton and Akron area.

Fannin is one of five children in his family: when he was just nineteen years old, during his sophomore season at Bowling Green, he lost his sister Haria to leukemia. Her funeral was the day before the Falcons took on Ball State in their November 1 matchup of the 2023 season.

Fannin’s mother, Lakeesha Wise, told a local reporter at the time that Fannin spoke with his mother about the game at Haria’s funeral.

“I was watching one game — this was the day after her funeral — that he had a game the next day and he came up to me and he said, ‘Mom, are you going to be OK?’ And I said, ‘Yes I’m going to be OK,’” Wise said. “I told him, ‘Haria is your biggest supporter, always has been, and she would want you to continue and carry on.’”

Fannin took those words to heart and scored a touchdown against Ball State.

“I remember when he made that touchdown at the game, the way he stomped and sort of, he didn’t bang on his chest, but he had this pose. I felt like through the television, I felt his energy like as if it was for her. It was like it was his first touchdown ever when I looked at him.”

Afterward, Fannin spoke about how much his sister meant to him.

“It was unexpected, but every time I talked to my sister, she always just told me how proud she was,” Fannin told The Blade. “When I came up to college and she was going through her tough times, I couldn’t really see her. I just always remembered that she’s proud of me and she’s happy with what I’m doing.

“She was really special to me because we’re so close in age. We grew up together. We did a lot of things together, that’s why she’s so close to my heart.”

Film evaluation

Fannin has a good feel for spacing and is a pretty good route runner. He has strong hands and plucks the ball out of the air. He saw no shortage of targets while he was at Bowling Green and did a pretty good job of catching the ball in traffic and through tight windows. He uses his size to his advantage against more undersized linebackers and defensive backs, and you can see his safety background shine through in the way he utilizes leverage down the field, especially if he’s running up the seams.

While there is no doubt he feasted on playing against lesser talent, he has a great motor and looks to get upfield and fight for extra yards after the catch.

Fannin is not the best blocker in the world, but it’s not because of a lack of effort. He can sometimes struggle with being overly zealous in run blocking, which leads to bad body positioning, and he can have issues standing up to larger defensive linemen.

Bowling Green used Fannin in various ways, many of which looked very familiar to what the Chiefs like to do with Travis Kelce. That being said, Fannin is not a Kelce replacement.

I think he’s more Jody Fortson than Killer Trav, but that’s not necessarily bad. I think Fannin might struggle to get separation in the NFL, which means that he will live and die by the contested catch, which, thankfully, he’s pretty good at. But that’s also a grueling way to make a living in the NFL.

How he fits with the Chiefs

With this season being Travis Kelce’s farewell tour, the Chiefs are looking to prepare for life after the future Hall of Famer. But the sad truth is, there is no replacing a guy like Kelce, and to expect Fannin to do so would be unfair to him.

The bottom line

Fannin offers good value as a power slot type of receiver but little value as in-line blocker. I see him as more of a JuJu Smith-Schuster replacement than Kelce. That being said, I have no doubt head coach Andy Reid would have a few ideas about how to get Fannin open. He’s a young player who could score many touchdowns inside the 20-yard line.