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Browns rookie Spencer Fano no stranger to Jets edge rusher David Bailey
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- Browns rookie Spencer Fano no stranger to Jets edge rusher David Bailey
BEREA ― Spencer Fano had plenty of new experiences during his rookie season with the Browns . A old experience could be coming his way in the next game.
Fano and New York Jets edge rusherr David Bailey have a familiarity dating back to their time together as Big 12 Conference opponents in college. The Browns left tackle was at the University of Utah while Bailey was at Texas Tech University during the 2025 season.
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"In general, I thought I did pretty good," Fano told the Beacon Journal Oct. 8. "But yeah, obviously, there was a lot of give and take. I though I won my reps, he won his reps."
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Bailey ended up the No. 2 overall pick in this past April's draft, while Fano was taken No. 9. Now, the two top-10 rookies will be seeing each other again when the Browns and Jets meet Oct. 11 in New Jersey.
Well, maybe they will. Fano's move to left tackle means he'll be mostly on the opposite side as Bailey, who's played primarily against opposing right tackles through four games.
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Fano, though, still knows enough to know what the scouting report is on the Jets' star rookie.
"I would say just he's very quick," Fano said, "and he has a violent quickness, if that makes sense. And it's tough to deal with."
Bailey has been a standout on a Jets team that has lost their last three coming into the matchup with the 3-1 Browns. His 18.9% pressure rate is ninth among all pass rushers with at least 75 pass-rush snaps this season.
Beyond that, that pressure rate has Bailey tied for fifth with the Houston Texans' Will Anderson Jr. among all pass rushers through their first four career games since 2016. The players in front of him: Jalen Carter (23.1%), Nick Bosa (21.7%), Myles Garrett (21.6%) and Byron Young (19.6%).
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The rookie has been a highlight for a Jets pass rush that has, in totality, struggled to consistently heat up the quarterback. New York has nine sacks, with Bailey one of three Jets with two sacks.
"I feel like he's in coverage a little more," Fano said. "They'll use him a little more as a linebacker-type of a player because he's got the athleticsm to do that. Whereas I feel like in Texas Tech, it was really straight pass rush."
While Bailey may be more of a down-to-down challenge for right tackle Tytus Howard, Fano isn't without his own challenge. Will McDonald IV will be the primary edge rusher over the rookie, a fourth-year pro who's posted a career 14.5% pressure rate over his first 50 career games.
Browns offensive tackle Spencer Fano, Aug. 27, 2026, in Cleveland.
McDonald only has one sack this season, but he had a career day a yeat ago when these two teams met in New Jersey. He posted four sacks of then-starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel and nine pressures, just the sixth time since pressures were first tracked in 2016 that a player hit at least those numbers.
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"I mean McDonald right now is playing a little bit more situationally," Browns offensive coordinator Travis Switzer said Oct. 8. "I would say as more of their pass rush type, but they do a good job of moving the guys around. I mean there might be a little bit of a tendency, like we always look at the numbers just purely, but they do a good job of moving the guys around."
McDonald was already in the NFL by the time Utah, and Fano, faced Iowa State in 2024. Of course, Fano doesn't really have to go back to his college days to find reams of information about blocking good pass rushers.
Fano's first four games in the NFL have seen a steady diet of them, from Jacksonville Jaguars' star Josh Hines-Allen to Pittsburgh Steelers standout Alex Highsmith. In fact, against Highsmith and any other Steelers pass rushers who he may have gone against in the Browns' Week 4 win had no success against the rookie, as Fano did not allow a pressure during the entire game.
"It was awesome," Fano said. "And it was so much fun just going against dudes that I grew up watching that have always just been game wreckers. So to be able to go against them and to be able to have that game was awesome."
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The performance against Pittsburgh was the latest way Fano has shown his growth at left tackle. He had last played the position for roughly a dozen games as a freshman at Utah before being flipped to the left side after the Browns drafted him.
Fano, according to Pro Football Focus, has allowed just one sacks and nine total pressures through four games. It's good, really good, but he knows there's still a lot of growth he needs to continue to have this season.
"I think for sure consistency, 100% consistency," Fano said. "I feel like I'm able to make any block. I just need to consistently do it. And it starts with all the little things. I just need to improve on all those little things and hone in on them every play."
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Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ. Sign up for Browns Insider newsletter at https://profile.beaconjournal.com/newsletters/browns-insider/
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns rookie Spencer Fano no stranger to Jets edge rusher David Bailey
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