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Browns Draft Outland Trophy Tackle Spencer Fano Ninth

4/25/2026

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Summary

Browns Draft Fano

The Cleveland Browns selected tackle Spencer Fano at No. 9 in the 2026 NFL Draft on April 23, 2026 after a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs moved them from No. 6 and added picks (Nos. 74, 148).
Coach Todd Monken and GM Andrew Berry said Fano will start left tackle for Cleveland.
Fano earned the Outland Trophy and All-American honors in 2025 and allowed five pressures with no sacks per Pro Football Focus.

Summary

Fano Breaks Records

Spencer Fano posted a 9.80 Relative Athletic Score, the highest for a Browns tackle and fifth-highest for any Browns first-round pick since 2000.
At the 2026 NFL Draft combine, he tied for second-fastest offensive-lineman 40-yard dash at 4.91 seconds, calling former Browns legend Joe Thomas the best tackle ever.
He is the fifth family member in the NFL, having earned the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year and Outland Trophy.

Summary

Browns Sign Fano

The Browns chose Fano to fill the left-tackle vacancy left by Joe Thomas’s 2017 retirement.
In 2025 injuries forced ten offensive-line combos, prompting the need for a stable left tackle and leading to free-agency signings of Zion Johnson, Elgton Jenkins and Tytus Howard to form a core for the new draftees.
GM Berry said Concepcion’s 19 drops match veteran drop rates such as Larry Fitzgerald’s.

History

Historical Context

After the Browns returned as an expansion franchise in 1999—selecting quarterback Tim Couch first overall to end a 50-year hiatus—the team endured decades of losing seasons and few playoff trips. In 2026, Cleveland traded its 6th-overall slot to the Kansas City Chiefs, acquiring Utah left tackle Spencer Fano with the 9th pick, aiming to finally stabilize the offensive line left vacant by Joe Thomas’s 2017 retirement.

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Browns Draft Fano

The Cleveland Browns selected tackle Spencer Fano at No. 9 in the 2026 NFL Draft on April 23, 2026 after a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs moved them from No. 6 and added picks (Nos. 74, 148).
Coach Todd Monken and GM Andrew Berry said Fano will start left tackle for Cleveland.
Fano earned the Outland Trophy and All-American honors in 2025 and allowed five pressures with no sacks per Pro Football Focus.

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