With the 2026 NFL draft in the rearview mirror, the focus is on the future for rookies around the league.
That includes 39 Utah ties — six of them were drafted, while the other 33 either signed a free-agent contract following the draft or earned a rookie mini-camp invitation.
While every single one of these Utah ties has his own unique story to tell — and one that bears following — here’s a look at five storylines of particular intrigue to watch this offseason.
Colorado quarterback Kaidon Salter (3) looks to pass as Utah defensive end Logan Fano (0) looks to sack him during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Salt Lake City, Utah. | Tyler Tate
There were a handful of heartwarming stories involving brothers during the 2026 draft, and that included two Utes in offensive tackle Spencer Fano and edge rusher Logan Fano.
Spencer was a first-round pick, going No. 9 overall to the Cleveland Browns as the first offensive lineman taken in the draft. He is expected to be the Browns’ franchise left tackle and start from Day 1, like he did at Utah.
Older brother Logan, meanwhile, waited for his name to be called at the NFL draft, even as he remained the top edge rusher on ESPN’s “best available” draft board for a good part of Saturday’s final day of the draft.
That moment never came, but there was a silver lining: the Fano brothers will play together again, as Cleveland signed Logan Fano to an undrafted free-agent contract following the draft.
The Fano brothers played together at Timpview High, then starred at the University of Utah.
What does the next chapter hold for them? Fortunately, they’ll make that journey together after playing alongside each other the past three seasons at Utah.
BYU kicker Will Ferrin (44) attempts a field goal during game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
There are 18 Utah ties who’ve signed undrafted free-agent deals following the conclusion of the draft, and there are some oddities about this group.
Six former BYU players signed undrafted free-agent contracts, but it’s with only two teams. The group is split evenly, with three signing with the New York Jets and three others signing with the Las Vegas Raiders .
The Utes, meanwhile, saw their two offensive tackles from last season, Fano and Caleb Lomu, drafted in the first round, with Lomu going to the New England Patriots . That’s the first time in program history that Utah has had two first-round draft picks the same year.
An indication of just how good that Utah offensive line was is that two other starters, Jaren Kump and Tanoa Togiai, also signed free-agent contracts. Kump signed with the Chicago Bears , and Togiai with the Washington Commanders .
Perhaps the free-agent signing among Utah ties with the best chance to start next year, though, is former BYU kicker Will Ferrin, who also prepped at Davis High. He signed with the Jets.
Nick Folk , the 41-year-old veteran, was New York’s kicker last season, returning to a franchise he had success with in the 2010s. Folk signed with the Atlanta Falcons this offseason.
Ferrin will compete with a couple other kickers, Cade York and Lenny Krieg , for the chance to be the Jets’ starting kicker. Krieg, who hails from Germany, has yet to attempt a field goal in the NFL, while York entered the league in 2022 but has bounced around since then.
He made 24 of 32 field goals for the Browns as a rookie, but also had three blocked.
Going into Day 3 of the draft, The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt identified kicker as a position the team still needed to address.
“The Jets don’t have a clearly defined kicking solution on their roster after losing Nick Folk to the Falcons in free agency,” Rosenblatt wrote.
Could Ferrin, the Big 12 Co-Special Teams Player of the Year in 2024 and a second-team All-Big kicker a year ago, ultimately be the solution?
Utah State quarterback Bryson Barnes throws a pass during Utah football's Pro Day at the Spence Eccles Field House in Salt Lake City on Thursday, March 19, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Unlike the six Utah ties who were drafted and the other 18 who signed free-agent deals, there are 15 who have earned an invitation to rookie mini-camps.
During the next two weeks, the NFL’s 32 teams will each host a three-day rookie mini-camp, a way for team’s draft picks and free-agent signees to get their first on-field work with the team.
It also provides players with a mini-camp invitation to show what they can do, in hopes of earning a contract themselves.
Last year, former Utah State and Utah wide receiver Kyrese White, who has since begun using his legal name Kyrese Rowan, was invited to rookie mini-camp with the Broncos .
He impressed enough to sign a free-agent deal, and Rowan, a Roy High product, stuck with Denver through his rookie season — primarily as a practice squad player — and is back on the team’s roster in 2026.
“My biggest fear is that somebody that’s out here for three days ends up somewhere else, playing well,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said ahead of his team’s rookie camp in 2023, according to ESPN.
One such example is another Utah tie, former Utah State safety Marwin Evans .
In 2016, he tried out at rookie mini-camp with Seattle , but then signed with Green Bay after that tryout and spent two years in the league.
This year’s crop of Utah mini-camp invitees has some interesting names.
Former Utah and Utah State quarterback Bryson Barnes, the Milford High grad, is headed to Cleveland for a tryout, while former BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff, who played the 2025 season at Tulane, is doing the same in Seattle.
Retzlaff will be joined at Seahawks camp by former BYU and Utah State running back Miles Davis.
Players can attend multiple rookie mini-camps if they are invited, barring of course the dates for those camps don’t overlap.
For example, former Utah State tight end Broc Lane is headed to mini-camp both with the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts .
Former Southern Utah long snapper Gavin Lipkin is also headed to two mini-camps, with Minnesota and Las Vegas .
Between free-agent signees and rookie camp invites, there will be seven Utah ties at Raiders camp.
Brigham Young Cougars linebacker Jack Kelly (17) brings down Stanford Cardinal running back Micah Ford (20) just outside the end zone as BYU and Stanford play in Provo on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
Former BYU, Weber State and Kearns High linebacker Jack Kelly feels like a prototypical New York Giant linebacker.
Perhaps it’s appropriate, then, that the franchise drafted him in the sixth round.
He’s a hard-nosed defender, and Kelly, even from his linebacker position, has made it a habit of pressuring opposing quarterbacks.
In his two seasons at BYU, he had 106 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, 15 sacks, four forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, three pass deflections and an interception.
Kelly will take his blend of pass-rushing ability and off-ball linebacker skills to New York, where he’ll try and find a role.
That will likely start with making an impact on special teams and could lead to defensive assignments, perhaps alongside fellow rookie linebacker Arvel Reese, who was the fifth overall selection in the draft.
BYU tight end Carsen Ryan (20) stiff-arms UCF Knights defensive back Demari Henderson (8) as he runs the ball up the field during a game held at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
In the final handful of picks of the 2026 draft, two Utah natives who played tight end at local schools for multiple years were selected.
First was former BYU, Utah and American Fork High tight end Carsen Ryan (who also played multiple years at UCLA). Ryan ended up going pick No. 248 overall to the Browns.
Then, with the second-to-last selection of the draft, the Denver Broncos tapped into the Utes market again and selected former Utah, Snow College and Taylorsville High star Dallen Bentley.
How the two fare in trying to secure a spot on the 53-man roster will be interesting.
Cleveland returns its top tight end — Harold Fannin Jr. caught a team-high 72 passes for 731 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie last season — though the Browns no longer have veteran David Njoku .
That opens up an opportunity for Ryan to battle several other tight ends, including fellow rookie Joe Royer from Cincinnati , on the Cleveland roster for the right to stick around come the regular season.
In Denver, meanwhile, Bentley enters a situation where the Broncos have veterans Evan Engram and Adam Trautman leading the tight end group.
Bentley was Denver’s second tight end draft selection, along with fifth-rounder Justin Joly out of NC State, and there’s an opportunity for the Utah native to find himself a role in the rotation.
Bentley isn’t the only former Utah tight end on the roster — he’ll also be competing along Caleb Lohner , who was also a seventh-round pick by the Broncos last season.
Utah Utes tight end Dallen Bentley (88) scores a touchdown during the Las Vegas Bowl against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
