Spencer Fano #55 of the Cleveland Browns
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The Cleveland Browns have certainly caught attention for the way their rookies have played here in the 2026 NFL season. In the first few weeks of the year, it was second-round pick Denzel Boston making waves, with his ability to create separation on the outside, as well as his physical tools–the size and strength–to win one-on-one matchups. In Week 7, it was KC Concepcion, with his eight catches for 129 yards in a big road win over Tennessee. But while the playmakers got the box-score love, it was another rookie–No. 9 overall pick Spencer Fano–who captured the attention of the film-watchers.
According to Pro Football Focus, Fano was the best left tackle in the NFL in Week 7 when it came to run blocking, and among the best in pass-blocking too. The site, after crunching the numbers on all 32 teams, found that Fano had himself a week: “Career-best performance: Cleveland Browns rookie left tackle Spencer Fano earned a 92.2 PFF overall grade against the Tennessee Titans in Week 7, surpassing his previous season high of 72.6.”
Browns Got Big Bounce-Back From Spencer Fano
The Browns slid back from Pick No. 6 to take Fano back in April, identifying him as a future star at left tackle, on a line that badly needed a stalwart at the position in the mold of all-time Cleveland great joe Thomas. Fano has had his ups and downs through the early portion of the season but his progress was steady–at least until the Week 6 game against the Ravens, in which he struggled.
From PFF: “It was a significant turnaround for Fano, who entered the matchup coming off his lowest run-blocking grade of the season (41.8) in Week 6 against Baltimore. His 92.2 overall grade also comfortably surpassed his previous season high of 72.6, set in Week 5.
“Fano made his biggest impact in the running game, earning a positive grade on 28.6% of his 29 run-blocking snaps, the second-highest rate at the position in Week 7. He was also negatively graded on just 3.6% of those snaps, the fifth-lowest rate among tackles.”
Offensive Line Made Quinshon Judkins Look Good
Indeed, the Browns running game itself had a breakout showing in Week 7, posting a season high 183 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries. And while Quinshon Judkins (17 carries, 96 yards) got the glory, coach Todd Monken pointed out, it was the line that pushed around the Titans‘ front all afternoon.
Said Monken: “We gave him places to run. It’s hard to look explosive when there’s nowhere to run. So, I thought we did a better job there because he is powerful. He’s hard to bring down if you can get him downhill, and I think we’ve been doing a better job the last couple weeks of that.”
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Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including "Fun City," "Before Wrigley became Wrigley," and "Facing Michael Jordan." More about Sean Deveney