Fernando
Carmona.
Fernando
Carmona.
Arkansas· 6'6"· 320 lb
R5 · #142 · Tennessee Titans"Length-and-anchor guard convert from left tackle; heavy-handed run finisher with patient pass sets, sold as a Day 3 backup-four-spots interior developmental plug."Pre-draft read
This guard's game relies on length, patience, and a substantial anchor. His feet stay quiet in pass-pro, hands inside. He re-fits hands under rush counters instead of lunging, effective against long-arm bull rushes, but less so against tight interior twists.
As a phone-booth mauler in the run game on down blocks and duo, he drives through contact with active hips and finishes blocks. His reach blocks and second-level tracking are functional; he wins these primarily through grip strength post-punch. Improving balance against counter moves and refining hand-fighting in confined spaces are key, as his frame and functional strength are NFL-ready.
The Tennessee Titans generally run a gap/duo power run game, emphasizing interior line strength and down-hill blocking.
Carmona is likely to be a Year 1 backup right guard and swing tackle with the ceiling to develop into a spot starter with his length and anchor.
He would struggle significantly in a wide-zone blocking scheme that prioritizes athletic, fluid movers who can consistently get to the second level and execute reach blocks.
His powerful run blocking and strong pass protection anchor are good fits for a physical, downhill running scheme, despite his limited burst and lateral agility.
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Fernando Carmona Jr. projects as a developmental guard with a genuine anchor and a profile for a Day 3 selection. He offers immediate value as a plug-in option due to his size and experience, particularly his 40-plus career starts, making him a reliable, if not immediately splashy, addition to an offensive line.
He spent three seasons as the starting left tackle at San Jose State, where he excelled against Mountain West competition. Upon transferring to Arkansas for his final year, he transitioned inside to guard, also seeing reps at left tackle depending on team needs. This move highlighted his interior projection, as his balance and foot quickness showed limitations against top-tier edge rushers, confirming the interior as his optimal role.
Scouting boards generally projected Carmona in the fourth-to-fifth-round range, seeing him as a versatile swing lineman capable of backing up at right guard and right tackle. The consensus regarded him as a solid backup with potential emergency value across four positions, and his selection at pick 142 aligned with this market expectation.
- 01
Anchor versus power
Sinks his hips and re-drops his weight against bull-rush; long-arm rushers rarely walk him back to the quarterback's lap on tape.
- 02
Length as a guard
Tackle-length arms inside give him first-punch advantage on 3-techs and let him recover when hands land late in phase.
- 03
Run finish
Mauler mentality on down blocks and duo, plays through contact with active feet, and consistently finishes blocks past the play whistle.
- 04
Positional flex
Started at left tackle at San Jose State, kicked to guard at Arkansas, and cross-trained at right tackle — real backup value at four spots on Day 3.
- 05
Hand placement in pass pro
Keeps hands inside the frame most reps; independent hands and a strong grip let him ride and reset counter moves without over-setting.
- 01
Foot quickness on the edge
Lateral recovery versus wide-9 speed rushers is average; the tackle-to-guard move is scheme necessity, not just preference.
- 02
Balance against counters
Gets caught leaning on inside counter moves and spin rushes when the initial punch misses; the second reaction is a work-in-progress.
- 03
Second-level tracking
Climbs to linebackers with tight hips and can miss angles on flowing defenders in space, especially on wide-zone reach concepts.
- 04
Competition step-up
Dominant tape came in the Mountain West; the SEC year at Arkansas showed real reps but the sample against elite interior D-linemen is thin.
| Yr | Team | G |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | San Jose State | 12 |
| 2023 | San Jose State | 10 |
| 2024 | San Jose State | 12 |
| 2025 | Arkansas | 8 |
| Career | — | 42 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Late Day 3 college tackle who converted inside as a Swiss-army swing guard; that is the honest Carmona outcome in Tennessee.
Long, sturdy guard whose NFL career became a reliable backup-four with spot-start value — Carmona's ceiling if the interior move takes fully.
Big-frame Day 3 lineman who never carved out a stable role and bounced across practice squads — the risk if foot quickness and balance don't translate.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Pre-draft context Fernando Carmona Jr. arrived at San Jose State in 2022 as a three-star tackle from Chino Hills (CA) with the length and disposition scouts flag early for interior projection. He started immediately at left tackle for the Spartans and held that job for three seasons, becoming one of the most durable and productive linemen in the Mountain West — a reliable pass protector against speed and a genuine mauler in the run game. When he entered the transfer portal after the 2024 season, Arkansas won a competitive recruitment and installed him as their swing left tackle/left guard for 2025. The SEC year was more uneven than his SJSU tape — flashes against Ole Miss and Texas, some reps he lost to inside counter moves — but the identity as a length-and-anchor blocker held. Boards settled him into the fourth-to-fifth-round Day 3 bucket as a plug-in guard with real backup-four-spots flexibility.
NFL fit — Tennessee Titans Tennessee bought a swing lineman for an offensive line that has been reshuffling starters for two straight seasons. The Titans need bodies who can protect at multiple spots without falling off the depth chart, and Carmona fits that use case cleanly: he can develop behind the starters at guard, cross-train at right tackle in a pinch, and give the team a functional emergency option at four positions. His anchor and hand placement translate to the AFC South's interior speed-to-power looks, and the organization has publicly framed the pick as a developmental interior body with tackle-emergency value — not a Week 1 starter, and not billed as one.
Retrospective Too early to grade — the honest read at pick 142 is a rookie whose Year 1 role is likely backup interior lineman with core special teams reps as a jumbo tight end and field-goal blocker. The evaluation was consistent up and down the industry: a length-and-anchor Day 3 developmental guard with backup-four ceiling and a starter-quality floor at one spot if the balance-versus-counters piece cleans up. The pick sits at the exact price that thesis deserves.