Field Yates delivers rave review of Elijah Arroyo, Harold Fannin Jr. at Senior Bowl

The 2025 NFL Draft is quietly shaping up to have one of the best tight end draft classes in recent memory. During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday, ESPN’s Field Yates raved about a couple of standout tight ends in the 2025 draft class.

“Elijah Arroyo, 6-foot-4, 251, pounds. He averaged nearly 17 yards per catch, which for a tight end is just ridiculous,” Yates said. “If you watch him out there, athletically — he had a catch in the end zone today in which he jumped high. I certainly couldn’t jump as high as he did, but it looked like he barely efforted to do so. Just a reminder of how physically gifted he is.”

With Miami QB Cam Ward delivering darts on a weekly basis, Elijah Arroyo had a career year in 2024. He finished the season with 35 catches for 590 yards and seven touchdowns.

For reference, Arroyo had recorded just 11 catches for 163 yards in his prior three seasons combined. Now, the massive target is on pace to be one of the most coveted tight ends in April.

Arroyo isn’t the only veteran TE who has impressed Field Yates at the Reese’s Senior Bowl this week. Yates also raved about Bowling Green TE Harold Fannin Jr.

“One of the things that I keep coming back to with Fannin during the pre-draft process is that when you play against Bowling Green, and with due respect to the rest of that roster, everybody knows that the plan was to throw the football to Harold Fannin last season,” Yates said.

“So, you’d think that a defensive coordinator would say, ‘I don’t care if we’re gonna put three guys on him, let somebody else besides him beat us.’ He had 117 catches last year and over 1,500 yards. The guy’s production every single week looked like a Madden box score. So the numbers speak for themselves.”

To be specific, Fannin totaled 1,555 receiving yards and 10 TDs this past season. His 1,555 receiving yards were the most in the second, out-pacing second place by a ridiculous 172 yards.

As Yates mentioned, Fannin’s success only becomes more impressive when considering the fact that he was the main focus of opposing defenses. Nonetheless, Fannin never allowed defensive pressure to stifle him.

In Bowling Green’s 38-31 loss to Arkansas State in the 68 Ventures Bowl, Fannin erupted for 17 catches, 213 yards and a touchdown. It was his sixth time in the season recording 125-plus yards and a touchdown in a single game.

Now, the two talented tight ends will look to find similar success at the next level. The NFL Draft will take place from April 24-26 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.