{"id":572004,"date":"2026-04-08T15:23:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T15:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/572004\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T15:23:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T15:23:09","slug":"2026-nfl-mock-draft-detroit-lions-select-utah-rt-spencer-fano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/572004\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 NFL mock draft: Detroit Lions select Utah RT Spencer Fano"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our 2026 Pride of Detroit Community Mock is well underway, and over the past week, we have seen members of our community make selections for the first 16 picks, putting the Detroit Lions on the clock. (Track each pick here.<\/a>)<\/p>\n

As we do every year in this exercise, we picked a handful of players that Lions fans may want the team to select and published a poll for the community to vote on<\/a>. The results of this poll show that the majority of votes were cast for Utah right tackle Spencer Fano. As is tradition, I made my selection before the voting began, but my vision aligns with the fan base, and with pick No. 17 in the 2026 NFL Draft, I have the Detroit Lions selecting…<\/p>\n

Fano has consistently lived near or at the top of the offensive tackle rankings for the majority of this draft cycle, but a questionable arm length measurement at the NFL Combine raised some unanticipated questions that could potentially impact his draft stock. It\u2019s not clear if that played a factor in this year\u2019s POD fan mock draft, but if this scenario plays out in the actual NFL Draft, I believe the Lions would jump at the opportunity to land a foundational offensive tackle.<\/p>\n

Mike Renner (CBS Sports<\/a>): OT2, 5th overallDane Brugler (The Athletic<\/a>): OT1, 8th overallTodd McShay (McShay Report, via Ringer<\/a>): OT2, 12th overallTrevor Sikkema (most recently with PFF<\/a>): OT1, 13th overallBrandon Thorn (Bleacher Report<\/a>): OT1, 8.1 grade, 1st round grade (13th on BR\u2019s board)Daniel Jeremiah (NFL.com<\/a>): OT2, 13th overallJordan Reid (ESPN<\/a>): OT2, 16th overallLance Zierlein (NFL.com<\/a>): OT3, 6.44 grade, equivalent to roughly a top-16 pick in this class<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s on the trimmer side for the position and does his best work out in space. His ability to locate and engage in the run game is second to none in this class. Teams that run a lot of outside zone should have him as the No. 1 lineman on their board.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAn impressive athlete for the position, Fano is quick out of his stance in pass protection and has the bend, balance and sudden hands to neutralize different types of rushers. When Utah needed a yard, it ran behind the efficient footwork and hips of No. 55 \u2014 especially on power-play skip-pulls, on which Fano could fit up defenders and take them for a ride.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(Note: I added in Fano\u2019s 30 bench press reps from his pro day<\/a> to his official RAS card<\/a> to generate an updated \u201cunofficial\u201d score.)<\/p>\n

Overall, Fano tested as an elite athlete for his position, and whether you\u2019ve studied his tape or just watched his movement skills at the NFL Combine, you can clearly see that those numbers check out. The elephant in the room here is Fano\u2019s arm length. So, let\u2019s discuss it a bit further.<\/p>\n

The average arm length of an NFL offensive tackle exceeds 34 inches, and most NFL teams establish a 33-inch threshold for the position. At the NFL Combine, Fano\u2019s arm length measured 32 1\/8-inches, suggesting that at the NFL level, he will struggle to land his strikes on edge rushers. However, there were many complaints that the measurements at this year\u2019s Combine were shorter than anticipated, based on comparable measurements from previous events, such as the Senior Bowl and the East-West Shrine Game. Then, at Utah\u2019s Pro Day, Fano\u2019s arm length measured 32 7\/8 inches, a significant jump that would bring him close to most teams\u2019 minimums.<\/p>\n

The Lions certainly have minimum measurements they use, but based on their previous drafting strategies, they\u2019ve shown they\u2019re flexible if a player\u2019s talent justifies the selection. For example, much was made of Aidan Hutchinson\u2019s 32 1\/8 inch arm length, potentially limiting his ability to rush the passer, but that didn\u2019t stop the Lions from selecting him with the second overall pick in 2022. Additionally, Penei Sewell\u2019s 33 1\/4 inch arm length was also considered less than ideal, and newly signed Larry Borum\u2019s arm length is just 33 1\/8 inches.<\/p>\n

Bottom line, Fano\u2019s talent is too good to pass up, even if his arm length is less than ideal.<\/p>\n

Schematic fit and statistics<\/p>\n

Games played\/started: 37\/37Right tackle snaps: 1550Left tackle snaps: 542PFF 2025 pass block grade: 81.5PFF 2025 run block grade: 80PFF 2025 zone run block grade: 79.4PFF 2025 gap run block grade: 80PFF sacks allowed in 2025: 0PFF QB hits allowed in 2025: 0PFF sacks allowed in career: 3Awards: First-team AP All-American<\/a> 2025 and 2024, Freshman All-American 2023, Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award 2025<\/a>, Outland trophy winner 2025<\/a> (Best lineman in college football)<\/p>\n

As a true freshman, Fano started at left tackle for the Utes, but switched to right tackle after Caleb Lomu was inserted into the starting lineup. Lomu was a much better left than right tackle, while Fano proved position flexible with no drop off in play when switching sides. Essentially, the Utah coaches flipped Fano to the right side to get their best five offensive linemen on the field, not because Fano showed any struggles at left tackle.<\/p>\n

Utah\u2019s blocking scheme translates very well to the professional level, and Fano has shown consistency and balance in his production. Not only did his pass protection improve each season (two sacks allowed as a freshman, one as a sophomore, and zero as a junior), but he also displayed the ability to work in zone and gap rushing schemes with efficiency.<\/p>\n

The Lions have primarily been a zone-rushing team since taking over, but they also blend in gap- and duo-blocking game plans depending on the opponent. The introduction of offensive coordinator Drew Petzing could alter how much the Lions deploy each blocking scheme, but he plans to adapt to what the players do well, so there likely won\u2019t be too many changes. Fano\u2019s experience and production at Utah would help him quickly acclimate to the Lions\u2019 scheme.<\/p>\n

Time to grade the Lions\u2019 pick. Offer a score in the poll below and share your expanded thoughts in the comment section:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Our 2026 Pride of Detroit Community Mock is well underway, and over the past week, we have seen…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":572005,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[2131,16911,349,225926,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-572004","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-detroit-lions-analysis","9":"tag-detroit-lions-draft","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-nfl-draft-profiles","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=572004"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572004\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/572005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=572004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=572004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=572004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}