In next week’s NFL draft, there’s a clear consensus on the top two draft prospects from the state of Utah — Utes offensive tackles Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu.
There is also a high likelihood that both Fano and Lomu will be first-round draft picks, and most recent mock drafts back that up.
If both are taken in the first round, it would be a historic moment for the University of Utah — the school has never had two first-round picks in the same draft.
The Deseret News compiled a roundup of nine recent NFL mock drafts — four that span all seven rounds, and five others that go anywhere from one to three rounds — and found that as many as five to six players who finished their college play at a Utah school are being projected as draft picks.
Of those six Utah ties mentioned in at least one mock draft, five attended Utah high schools.
That list includes Fano (Timpview High), BYU linebacker Jack Kelly (Kearns High), Utah tight end Dallen Bentley (Taylorsville High), Utah defensive end Logan Fano (Timpview High) and Utah linebacker Lander Barton (Brighton High).
Lomu is the only one who didn’t attend high school in Utah — he’s from Arizona .
Three of the six Utah ties mentioned in these mock drafts also attended multiple Utah colleges — Kelly also played at Weber State, Logan Fano first enrolled at BYU before transferring to Utah and Bentley starred at Snow College before moving on to Utah.
The draft will run April 23 through April 25.
Here’s where each of these nine mock drafts predict Utah ties will get drafted.
First round
12. Cleveland Browns — Spencer Fano, Utah OT
27. San Francisco 49ers — Caleb Lomu, Utah OT
Fourth round
135. Pittsburgh Steelers — Jack Kelly, BYU LB
Fifth round
178. Philadelphia Eagles — Logan Fano, Utah DE
181. Detroit Lions — Dallen Bentley, Utah TE
First round
13. Detroit Lions — Spencer Fano, Utah OT
27. San Francisco 49ers — Caleb Lomu, Utah OT
Third round
95. New England Patriots — Jack Kelly, BYU LB
Fourth round
111. Denver Broncos — Logan Fano, Utah DE
Fifth round
172. New Orleans Saints — Dallen Bentley, Utah TE
Seventh round
225. Tennessee Titans — Lander Barton, Utah LB
First round
6. Cleveland Browns — Spencer Fano, Utah OT
27. San Francisco 49ers — Caleb Lomu, Utah OT
Sixth round
216. New Orleans Saints — Jack Kelly, BYU LB
Seventh round
218. Dallas Cowboys — Logan Fano, Utah DE
225. Tennessee Titans — Dallen Bentley, Utah TE
First round
13. Los Angeles Rams — Spencer Fano, Utah OT
24. Cleveland Browns — Caleb Lomu, Utah OT
Fifth round
166. Jacksonville Jaguars — Dallen Bentley, Utah TE
Sixth round
186. New York Giants — Lander Barton, Utah LB
196. Minnesota Vikings — Jack Kelly, BYU LB
First round
14. Baltimore Ravens — Spencer Fano, Utah OT
Second round
51. Carolina Panthers — Caleb Lomu, Utah OT
First round
16. Houston Texans — Spencer Fano, Utah OT
24. Cleveland Browns — Caleb Lomu, Utah OT
First round
11. Miami Dolphins — Spencer Fano, Utah OT
27. San Francisco 49ers — Caleb Lomu, Utah OT
First round
11. Miami Dolphins — Spencer Fano, Utah OT
27. San Francisco 49ers — Caleb Lomu, Utah OT
First round
13. Los Angeles Rams — Spencer Fano, Utah OT
24. Cleveland Browns — Caleb Lomu, Utah OT
Of the nine mock drafts, only one had Spencer Fano as a top-10 draft pick, though all but one had him being selected in the first 15 selections.
Three NFL teams — the Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Rams and Miami Dolphins — showed up more than once as potential landing spots for Fano.
Five mock drafts had Lomu going to the San Francisco 49ers with the 27th overall selection, and the Browns were also a destination for him on three projections.
Only one projection — coming from ESPN’s Mel Kiper — had Lomu sliding out of the first round into the second.
Kelly is projected anywhere from a late third-round pick to a sixth-rounder.
Three of the four seven-round mock drafts have Bentley as a fifth-round selection.
One other Utah tie does appear in a mock draft — former Utah State and Snow College running back Rahsul Faison, who spent his final year at South Carolina, was a seventh-round selection in NFL.com Chad Reuter’s mock draft.
