OT, DT slipping??? … There doesn’t appear to be much doubt around the NFL that OT is THE strength of the 2026 draft, at least as it stands now, with at least a half-dozen or so legit first-round candidates and another strong second-tier group knocking on the door. However, one OT who may be slipping a bit is Spencer Fano of Utah. In particular, Fano had a very disappointing outing in the Utes’ upset loss to Texas Tech this past weekend. No question that he’s a very athletic OT who is light on his feet and really explodes off the snap; he’s also a technically solid guy who gets good arm extension and does a nice job cutting off the edge. However, Fano really didn’t sustain blocks much past the initial contact and got little push drive-blocking; in particular, on a key 4th and short play early in the game, he got stood up at the point of attack with the result that the play got stuffed for a turnover. Fano was also knocked well off balance on several pass blocking set-ups resulting in more pressures allowed than one would expect to see from a potential 10 prospect. To add insult to injury, Fano was called for an OL downfield penalty that wiped out a 70-yard Utah TD. And all that is sort of in-line with what we are hearing re Fano from around the league, that is, there are concerns that he is not all that big at less than 310 pounds and could have issues with bigger, stronger NFL lineman at the next level. At the same time, though it doesn’t appear as if anyone around the league doubts that he is a first-round quality guy, just maybe not top 10. For the record, Fano’s Utah teammate Caleb Lomu, who actually plays LT for Utes, did a much better job against Texas Tech on the weekend absorbing contact, but struggled at times to cut off the edge as he just isn’t as quick as Fano.
We are also hearing that more than one team out there is close to dropping Clemson DT Peter Woods off their 2026 boards. Woods came into the season ranked as a top 5-10 prospect after a breakout year last fall. However, he’s barely gotten off the LOS so far this fall and as a 3rd year junior would seem more likely to return to school next fall if things don’t pick up for hi
