Gavin Bartholomew, Pittsburgh: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report

Bartholomew was a three-star recruit from Blue Mountain High School in Schuylkill Haven, Pa. in the class of 2021

Pittsburgh’s Gavin Bartholomew is one of the toughest tight ends in the 2025 NFL Draft. His blue-collar work ethic will resonate with evaluators. Unfortunately, Bartholomew lacks the elite athleticism needed to threaten the defense at all three levels and separate consistently.

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Gavin Bartholomew, TE Pittsburgh: 2025 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Senior tight end from Schuylkill Haven, Pa.

Background: Bartholomew was a three-star recruit from Blue Mountain High School in Schuylkill Haven, Pa. in the class of 2021. He was the No. 1,324 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 1,289 for On3.com. Bartholomew was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 73 grade out of 100. He originally committed to Buffalo before flipping to Pittsburgh. Bartholomew played defensive end, punter, quarterback, and tight end in high school. He amassed 27 receptions for 527 yards and five touchdowns as a junior. Bartholomew completed 36 of 66 passes for 521 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 145 yards and three touchdowns while playing quarterback as a senior. That year, he made six receptions for 131 yards and two scores. He was born on April 30, 2003.

Injuries & Off-Field: Exited 2022 Rhode Island game with a shoulder injury, missed final two games of 2023 season while in a walking boot with a left lower leg injury

Awards: 2021 Honorable Mention All-ACC, 2021 Second-Team Freshman All-American (The Athletic, PFN), 2023 Honorable Mention All-ACC

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, punt coverage, and field goal units, experience lining up in-line, the slot, out wide, and at H-back, tough workman mentality, arm length should check boxes, good release speed, active hands help chop or swim through press, boxes out DBs at the catch point, ball tracking, comfortable making mid-air adjustments, adjusts well to passes thrown behind him, doesn’t fear taking a big hit to make a catch, tough player who bounces back form big hits/falls, acceleration helps with YAC, some level of explosiveness to his game, finishes plays falling forward, good play strength when blocking, pulls and lead blocks, good block framing on the perimeter, effective perimeter blocker who displaces DBs, tough blocker who scraps with LBs and edge rushers, hustles to get downfield to block for teammates, impactful people mover, good movement generated on down blocks, sets or seals the edge for Pitt’s RB

Cons: High-cut frame, dynamic athleticism is lacking, lacks high-end speed, doesn’t blow past athletic linebackers, not a natural separator, inconsistent route definition, doesn’t snap off in or out-breaking routes, fairly upright going through breaks, doesn’t separate from DBs at a reliable rate, struggles to separate from mid-route contact, lack of route fakes, limited catch radius, appears to have a limited vertical, several bobbles and double catches, inconsistent hands lead to drops, not twitchy or elusive, doesn’t break many tackles, caught from behind, chest extends far over knees in pass pro, some issues mirroring in pass pro, occasional balance issues disrupt blocks, drops head and lunges in and whiffs on some second level blocks, some tough run and pass block reps vs. Florida State (2023)

Overview: Bartholomew has special teams experience on the kick return, punt coverage, and field goal units and primarily aligns in-line, the slot, out wide, and at H-back. He has a high-cut frame, but his arm length should check the necessary boxes. Bartholomew’s blue-collar, hard-working mentality will resonate with coaches and teammates. He releases from the line of scrimmage with good speed and uses his active hands to chop away or swim through press coverage. Bartholomew doesn’t offer much dynamic athleticism and lacks the speed to stack linebackers or overtake off-man coverage. He doesn’t separate with his natural athleticism or route running skills. Bartholomew’s routes lack definition, and his cuts aren’t sharp enough at the intermediate to deep levels to create separation. He goes through his breaks without dropping his hips or pad level. Mid-route contact slows the senior down significantly and makes it easy for defenders to harass him. He doesn’t have a massive catch radius but does a good job boxing defensive backs out at the catch point. Bartholomew’s ball tracking is impressive. He makes mid-air adjustments to snag passes thrown behind him. Unfortunately, bobbles, double catches, and drops are fairly common issues for the All-ACC honorable mention. Bartholomew doesn’t fear taking a big hit over the middle of the field. He’s one of the toughest players in the 2025 class. There’s a little explosiveness to Bartholomew’s game that helps him generate yards after the catch, and he finishes plays falling forward consistently. He isn’t a twitchy or elusive athlete, doesn’t break many tackles, and defenders run him down from behind. Bartholomew pulls and lead blocks frequently for the Panthers and showcases good play strength. He frames blocks well on the perimeter and drives defensive backs out of plays. Bartholomew also flexes his muscles against linebackers and edge rushers in the trenches to set or seal edges. The former three-star recruit hustles downfield to block for teammates. He struggles to maintain good posture in pass protection and doesn’t mirror rushers at a high level. Balance issues occasionally cause him to fall off blocks, and he’s not immune to dropping his head and lunging into whiffs at the second level.

Overall, Bartholomew is a tough, physical tight end who provides value as a blocker capable of establishing running lanes off-tackle, through the C-gap, or lead blocking on the perimeter. Unfortunately, he lacks the dynamic athletic traits and refined route running to be a versatile threat in the passing game. He projects as a depth piece at the next level who could see action for a 12-personnel heavy offense.

Role & Scheme Fit: TE2 who primarily plays in-line

Round Grade: Mid Fifth to Early Sixth Round

Size: 6'5", 250 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 07-14-24