Who is the most polarizing player in the 2025 NFL Draft class?

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The 2025 NFL Draft class is one of the most divisive in recent memory, with opinions — and draft boards — varying widely across the league. Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter are generally regarded as the top blue-chip prospects, while the Tennessee Titans’ decision to cancel their private workout with Shedeur Sanders has all but confirmed Cam Ward as the top quarterback.

Beyond that, the draft becomes a guessing game as many prospects have generated mixed evaluations and split opinions. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen were joined by Dane Brugler on “The Athletic Football Show” to break down why Harold Fannin Jr. is one of the most polarizing prospects in this year’s draft class. Watch the full discussion below.

A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on YouTube below or in “The Athletic Football Show” feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Robert: This is a unique group of players we’re about to talk about in a unique draft class. Dane, these are the players you feel are some of the most polarizing in this entire group, where opinions on them are all over the place.

The first player you mentioned — and I’m assuming this is the first guy that came to your mind when I gave you this homework assignment — was Harold Fannin Jr., the tight end from Bowling Green. Why, in your mind, is he one of the most polarizing players in this draft?

Dane: He’s got such a unique profile, and he’s one of the youngest players in the draft. He’s only 20 years old and doesn’t turn 21 until July. This is a guy who grew up in my neck of the woods in Northeast Ohio — he’s a Canton kid. In high school at Canton McKinley, he played a little bit of receiver, but for the most part, he was a safety. He didn’t have a ton of offers coming out (of high school), so credit to Bowling Green, because they had a vision for him and said, “Hey, we want you to come here and we’re going to transition you into tight end.”

When you think about the scheme Scot Loeffler (former Bowling Green head coach) runs, he likes to use multiple tight ends. This is also why in my seven-round mock draft coming out that the Eagles in the third round for Fannin Jr. makes sense with Loeffler now the quarterbacks coach in Philly. When you look at that offense, there are multiple tight ends, and Fannin Jr. is kind of that move tight end where they line up all over the formation. In the backfield, wide, slot, wing, and they try to get them the ball as much as they can. You don’t see tight ends with production like his, 117 catches for over 1,500 yards, and double-digit touchdown catches.

So the production is there, even though not against the greatest competition. When you go back and watch him against Penn State and Texas A&M, he had over 100 receiving yards in both games and played at a high level, and he tested pretty well too. But when you watch him, he’s a little undersized. The best way I can describe him as an athlete is he’s just a little awkward. He’s a bit duck-footed, so his feet are all over the place, and it’s not really sharp. He plays straight line explosive and catches everything. Those two things, I can do something with.

It’s just a very unique profile. He’s got plenty of doubters out there. People in the fantasy community were calling him a first-round pick, but he was never that. In my opinion, it was always “OK, could he get into the top 100?” And the way he played against Penn State and Texas A&M helped me get comfortable sneaking him into the top 100. There are plenty of other people who like him more than that, and some people don’t like him at all. He’s just a really interesting and unique type of player.

Robert: What are your thoughts on Fannin Jr., Derrik?

Derrik: He’s the type of prospect I typically wouldn’t enjoy, but he is one of the youngest players in the draft and converted from safety, like Dane said. Between his age and conversion, there’s probably a chance he can add a little bit more muscle and weight to his frame. The blocking stuff is a roller coaster right now. But again, he’s a very young and fresh player in the position. What’s most fascinating to me about him is that he’s one of these move tight ends, but doesn’t have the breakaway speed you would expect of a player like that.

Robert: He’s not an overwhelming athlete even though he tested fine.

Derrik: He’s explosive within a 10-yard box. When I give him the ball, do I expect him to run away from anybody? Not necessarily. If you’re going to be one of these move tight ends — (Detroit Lions tight end) Sam LaPorta ran a 4.59-second 40-yard dash, for example, which is pretty good. Fannin Jr. ran just over 4.70 seconds, which is not bad, but when you’re thinking about move tight ends, it’s probably not as fast as you would like.

If things work out because he’s a little bit taller and lankier, you want him to be more like (Baltimore Ravens tight end) Isaiah Likely. And to Dane’s point, in the first round, I don’t know if I’d take a player like that. But in the third round, that’s a pretty interesting proposition.

Robert: When you watch him move around, there is that straight line explosiveness, and that 10-yard box is a great way of framing it. He was just up the seam for 30 yards on the first play in that Penn State game. It was beautiful. This very unique athletic profile he has shows up the most to me when he’s blocking and has to change direction. When he was blocking against Penn State, they were running a duo or some sort of gap-scheme concept, and he was double-teaming with the tackle on Abdul Carter. And they get good movement, so I thought, “OK, Mr. 230-pound receiving tight end, that’s pretty good.”

The moment he has to come off a block or change direction, and this shows up a lot in pass blocking situations, he can’t really change direction. I’ve never seen a player with his specific set of movement skills and limitations, so it makes him fascinating.

You can listen to full episodes of “The Athletic Football Show” for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch on YouTube.

(Photo: Michael Chang / Getty Images)

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