The Browns accomplished their well-known goal of moving down the board on Day 1. They’ve also managed to add to their offensive line. Utah offensive tackle Spencer Fano has come off the board at No. 9 overall.
The Browns entered the offseason with the daunting task of potentially having to rebuild their entire offensive line as the unit faced expiring contracts for all five starters. Cleveland found the final piece of its new-look starting offensive line in Fano, who should slot in opposite trade acquisition Tytus Howard. It will be interesting to see which player will be given the honor of starting on the blindside, though, considering both have seen their best play at right tackle.
Fano started at left tackle for the Utes as a true freshman before ceding the job to Caleb Lomu for the past two years and flipping over to the right side. Howard has been forced to remain versatile over his seven years in Houston, covering a litany of positions. Of his 97 NFL starts, 58 have come at right tackle, 32 at left guard, 4 at left tackle, and 3 at right guard. Howard’s versatility may make him the better candidate to work in a position unfamiliar to him, but Cleveland may decide Fano has a higher ceiling on that side of the line, despite the work it will take to transition him back over.
Between the consensus top two offensive tackles available in this year’s draft, the Browns opted for the one with higher pass protection metrics over run grading. Both Fano and Miami’s Francis Mauigoa excel in both types of play, but each also has their specialty, and Fano’s quick first move and excellent balance and bend give Cleveland its best chance at keeping Deshaun Watson healthy or Shedeur Sanders upright. Both players also held positional versatility with evaluators thinking guard could be the best NFL position for both Fano and Mauigoa, but Fano should have a clear path here to a starting bookend role.
Well, thanks to a trade back with Kansas City, Cleveland’s pick came three slots later than expected, but that didn’t stop Fano from landing right where we predicted he would in PFR’s Mock Draft. Knowing the Browns had need at tackle and wide receiver, we predicted Fano would join first with the team taking Texas A&M’s KC Concepcion later on in the night. Can’t wait to see how the rest of the first round plays out for Cleveland.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
No surprise there, that o line was atrocious last year
Very good pick and gained picks 74 and 148 to move down 3 spots