Spencer Fano draws early praise

The Cleveland Browns drafted Utah tackle Spencer Fano with the No. 9 pick on April 23 and said he will open at left tackle. (clevelandbrowns.com) Head coach Todd Monken said after the pick that Fano’s “character, athleticism and toughness” drove Cleveland’s decision. The Browns announced the plan for Fano to play left tackle the same night. (clevelandbrowns.com 1) (clevelandbrowns.com 2) Fano arrives after 37 career games and 35 starts at Utah, including 11 starts at left tackle and 24 at right tackle. In 2025, he played 822 offensive snaps and allowed five pressures, zero sacks and zero quarterback hits, according to Pro Football Focus figures cited by the Browns. (clevelandbrowns.com) Cleveland moved down from No. 6 to No. 9 in a trade with Kansas City, added picks No. 74 and No. 148, and still landed Fano. The Browns then used their other first-rounder, No. 24, on Texas A&M wide receiver KC Concepcion. (nfl.com) General manager Andrew Berry said after Round 1 that Fano and Concepcion were both on the team’s “short list” and would help the offense “moving forward.” The Browns framed the night as a move to add offensive help, not a pivot away from the roster they already have. (nfl.com) That line work started before the draft. The Browns said six offensive linemen hit free agency when the new league year began March 11, and the club responded by trading for Tytus Howard, re-signing Teven Jenkins, and signing Zion Johnson and Elgton Jenkins. (clevelandbrowns.com) The current roster still includes quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson. Sanders is listed on the Browns’ official roster after Cleveland drafted him in the fifth round, No. 144 overall, in 2025. (clevelandbrowns.com) (nfl.com) Fano said he trained at every offensive line spot before the draft so he could fit whatever team selected him. Once Cleveland told him left tackle, he said he was “super grateful” and “pumped.” (clevelandbrowns.com) The early praise is tied to a concrete job: protect Cleveland’s quarterbacks from the blind side. The Browns used a top-10 pick on Fano and did not wait to define his role. (clevelandbrowns.com)