Photo: Tennessee Titans, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons²

Gavin Bartholomew

Tight End, Minnesota Vikings · #86.

Player facts

Team: Minnesota Vikings
Position: Tight End
Number: 86
Born: Apr 30, 2003 (age 23)
Birthplace: Schuylkill Haven, PA, USA
Height: 6' 5"
Weight: 249 lbs
College: Pittsburgh
Experience: 2 seasons
Status: Active

Stats

2026 Offense

	REC	TGTS	YDS	AVG	LNG	FD
Regular Season	6	7	37	6.2	13	2
Last 5 Games	6	7	37	5.3	13	2
Career	6	7	37	6.2	13	2

Advanced stats

2026 season through week 6. EPA per play is the points a play added to the team’s expected score; success rate is the share of plays that kept the offense on schedule; CPOE is completion percentage over what the throws’ difficulty predicted. Rank is by EPA per play.

	Plays	EPA/play	Success	CPOE	League rank
Receiving	7 targets	+0.25	71%		fewer than 24 plays

NFL data: nflverse, CC BY 4.0.

Recent games

			Receiving							Rushing					Fumbles
Date	Opponent	Result	REC	TGTS	YDS	AVG	TD	LNG	FD	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LNG	FUM	LST
Sun, Oct 11	@ NO	W 23-13	5	6	33	6.6	0	13	2	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Sun, Oct 4	vs MIA	W 15-10	1	1	4	4.0	0	4	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Sun, Sep 27	@ TB	W 23-16	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Sun, Sep 20	@ CHI	W 9-3	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Sun, Sep 13	vs GB	W 39-22	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0

Last 5 games. Click a game for its box score.

About

Gavin Bartholomew (born April 30, 2003) is an American professional football tight end for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers and was selected by the Vikings in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL draft.

From Wikipedia’s article on Gavin Bartholomew, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.¹

Background

Early life

Bartholomew was born on April 30, 2003, and grew up in Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania. He started playing football in third grade and also competed in baseball growing up. He attended Blue Mountain High School where he competed in football, baseball and track and field. He started at quarterback at Blue Mountain, before moving to defensive end and tight end as a sophomore; he started at defensive end for his final three seasons and was a starter at tight end as a junior and senior. He caught 27 passes for 527 yards and five touchdowns as a junior and was named team captain as a senior, catching six passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns before returning to quarterback to conclude the season. A three-star recruit, he committed to play college football as a tight end for the Pittsburgh Panthers, after having flipped from the Buffalo Bulls.

College career

As a true freshman with the Panthers in 2021, Bartholomew caught 28 passes for 326 yards and four touchdowns. He was named honorable mention All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and was chosen second-team Freshman All-American for his performance. He played in 13 games, 10 as a starter, in 2022, posting 21 catches for 283 yards and two touchdowns, and he then caught 18 passes for 326 yards and one touchdown in the 2023 season, during which he started all 10 games in which he appeared. As a senior in 2024, he served as a team captain and caught 38 passes for 322 yards and four touchdowns. He concluded his collegiate career having started 41 games and totaled 104 receptions for 1,248 yards and 11 touchdowns. He accepted an invite to the 2025 Senior Bowl.

From Wikipedia’s article on Gavin Bartholomew, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article.¹