Coming off a really solid sophomore season, Utah lineman Spencer Fano quickly became someone who NFL draft analysts believed could be the No. 1 offensive tackle prospect in the 2026 class.
That buzz only grew louder as the Spanish Fork, Utah, native followed up his 2024 campaign with an even more impressive showing in 2025, solidifying his reputation as one of the best offensive lineman in college football.
Fano, who started all 12 games at right tackle, earned unanimous first-team All-American honors and took home the Outland Trophy after allowing just five pressures, five hurries and no sacks in over 350 pass-blocking opportunities. In addition to keeping the Utes’ quarterbacks upright, he paved the way for an offense that rushed for 266.3 yards per contest (No. 1 among power conference teams) as Utah amassed a school-record 3,462 yards on the ground in across 13 games. The Utes also scored 41 rushing touchdowns, which was tied for the second-most in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Fano did all that after garnering All-America recognition from Pro Football Focus, the Associated Press and Walter Camp in 2024.
Between all personal accolades and team stats Fano helped generate in the 37 games he played in, the Timpview High School (Utah) product compiled quite the résumé in his three seasons at Utah, the school he committed to as a four-star recruit in the class of 2023. Though, as far as his potential fit in the NFL is concerned, there’s still some debate among draft analysts centered around his size and skillset.
Here’s what a few NFL draft experts have said and written about Fano in the lead up to the 2026 NFL Draft (April 23-25).
Skillset Analysis
There’s a lot that goes into scouting offensive tackles — it’s much more than just ‘Hey, he pushes other guys around really well.” While strength is an important part of playing the position, there are several other athletic and physical traits that play a role, like hip movement, feet placement and core control, to name a few.
Arm length is another important characteristic for offensive lineman. Typically, the average tackle measures in with 34-inch arms. During the NFL combine in Indianapolis, Fano check in with 32 1/8-inch arms, sparking discussions in draft circles over whether he was a better fit at tackle or guard at the next level (more on that later).
What seems to be less of an argument, though, is just how gifted Fano is as an athlete. His athleticism score of 93, which ranked No. 1 among all tackle prospects at the combine, demonstrated as much.
“[Fano’s] really, really quick,” said NFL draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah during an appearance on Peter Shrager’s podcast. “He can really go out and pick off corners, he’s really, really athletic. There’s a lot to really like about him.”
One of the aspects of Fano’s game that stands out to The Ringer’s Mel Kiper Jr. is how technically-sound he was this past season.
“He has a rare ability to recover when he gets into a bad spot,” Kiper wrote in his evalutation of Fano for The Ringer. “He works his hands inside and anchors well enough. He can set high and his base narrows.”
Of course, Fano isn’t a perfect prospect (those just don’t exist). Because of his arm length, he isn’t always able to keep defensive ends at-length like some other top-notch prospects can.
“There’s just times because of his lack of length, you’ll see guys get into his chest a little bit,” Jeremiah said. “He might get bold at times, but he’s incredibly smart, aware. The character makeup stuff’s great.”
Tackle or Guard?
Fano’s arm length has some wondering if he’d be a better fit at guard or center in the NFL, as opposed to the position he spent his entire college career, tackle.
Perhaps wisely, Fano went through drills with both tackles and centers during the skills-testing portion of the combine, giving scouts even more opportunities to see his athleticism and potentially determine whether he’d be better served at tackle or guard at the next level.
“His athletic profile is designed for move-based blocking schemes where he can pull, reach and climb while beating opponents to the spot with quickness/feel for hitting landmarks on time,” wrote NFL analyst Lance Zierlein in his assessment of Fano. “He gives good effort as a downhill blocker but issues with pad level and core strength lead to him being overtaken as the rep progresses.”
By all accounts, Zierlein’s projection of Fano’s best scheme fit sounds like one that has him playing on the interior. Usually, it’s guards who are tasked with pulling and getting to the second level in the run game, especially if they’re particularly fast and athletic. And because Fano was open about moving to guard during combine interviews, the team that drafts him might be apt to playing him on the inside.
“Fano has the traditional athletic profile of a left tackle, with experience playing on the left side — but the bulk of his experience comes at right tackle, and his short arms could cause him to kick inside,” Kiper wrote. “While he didn’t play on the inside in college, Fano has the traits to develop into an excellent center in the NFL.”
As Kiper dutifully points out in his evaluation, there are several examples of players who started their careers at tackle moving inside to play guard. Perhaps the best comparison to Fano is Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 2022 second round pick, Luke Goedecke, who began his collegiate career as a tight end at Wisconsin-Stevens Point before developing into a tackle at Central Michigan. He moved to left guard to start his NFL career, though he’s started at right tackle the past three seasons and has played at a high level.
NFL Draft Ranking
Regardless of the position Fano settles into at the next level, it’s a consensus that he’s a first-round talent. Draft analysts at ESPN, CBS and PFF tab him as a top-four tackle prospect and don’t have him lower than No. 19 on their respective big boards. Kiper ranks him as the No. 2 tackle and the No. 12 overall player on his draft board.
Interestingly, Jeremiah is one of the few mock draft creators who lists Fano as an “IOL” (interior offensive lineman). Even so, Fano is the No. 13 prospect on Jeremiah’s 50-player big board.
On the NFL’s official website, Fano checks in with a prospect grade of 6.44, which is deemed as a someone who will become a good starter within two years.
“Fano’s short arms raise questions about his position fit and might hurt his draft value, but he is one of the top offensive linemen in this class and a top 15-20 player overall,” Kiper wrote.
