The Baltimore Ravens land top offensive lineman, Spencer Fano, in Mel Kiper's final mock draft.
The Baltimore Ravens have been mocked to plenty of players over the course of the past few weeks and months, but one pick seems to follow the team plenty: offensive line. The conversation has been between Utah's Spencer Fano and Penn State's Vega Ioane.
While both linemen have huge strengths, the Ravens continue to be connected to Fano, who has the versatility that Baltimore needs. In Mel Kiper's final mock draft, the team lands the Utah prospect at No. 14 overall.
It is not hard to understand why Kiper has the Ravens taking Fano, as he has continued to get rave reviews. The lineman can play tackle, likely move into a guard position, and he took snaps at center to prove his versatility.
If the Ravens did take Fano, they would likely move him into the guard position or center, as those are far bigger needs on the line. That is especially true, as Baltimore is still without a clear-cut starting center.
In Kiper's assessment, he views Fano's versatility in the same manner.
"Taking Fano here would give Baltimore options. He could stick at his traditional position and become a swing tackle in Year 1 behind Ronnie Stanley and Roger Rosengarten before eventually taking a starter role. He could kick inside to guard and replace Andrew Vorhees. Or he could even be the team's next starting center after Tyler Linderbaum signed with the Raiders; Fano took snaps at the combine to show teams he could handle the pivot. No matter where he lines up, he has the size (6-foot-6, 311 pounds), agility and technique to keep quarterback Lamar Jackson's uniform clean. Fano didn't allow any sacks last season."
It would be highly unlikely that Fano would be used as a swing tackle behind Stanley and Rosengarten, as the Ravens need a guard or center. Daniel Faalele is with the New York Giants, and Andrew Vorhees also struggled mightily.
It would likely be that if Fano was not the right choice at center, he would still on the inside as a guard. Either way, his ability to move up and down the line would be highly valuable to the Ravens.
Protecting Lamar Jackson is paramount, and the Ravens must rebuild their line in a major way. John Simpson, Jovaughn Gwyn, and Danny Pinter were also brought in to act as competition and to fill starting roles, but more is definitely needed.
Fano seems to be the lineman who can come in and challenge any role on the line, even Stanley's. However, the veteran is one of the better tackles, and he could pair well with the Utah product.
Fano offers the versatility needed, and would be the best-case scenario pick for the Ravens at No. 14 overall.