With the 189th pick (6th round) in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select C/OT Brian Parker.
Below is my pre-draft scouting report of Parker:
School: Duke
Ht/Wt: 6’5”, 309 lbs
Strengths:
– Good athlete with fluid movements.
– Played OT and was a good enough athlete for the outside. Becomes higher end with a move to C.
– Blocks well on the move. Speed and footquickness, along with good angles, allow him to reach his benchmarks on time.
– Plays through the whistle and will lend a late shoulder to his opponent, without crossing the penalty threshold.
– Strong enough to set a firm anchor against sawed off edge rushers.
– Has the slide quickness to handle twitchy interior rushers.
– Good hand placement.
Weaknesses:
– Was a college OT, but moves inside due to lack of length.
– Length issue improves on the inside, but can still be an issue in some matchups.
– No experience at C, so this is a projection.
– Enough strength to handle edge rushers, but interior lineman are a different ballgame. I wonder if his current frame won’t translate super well. He’ll need to get stronger.
– Good move blocker, but also needs to get stronger in order to create more push from a phone booth.
Summary:
Parker is an OT prospect who is projected to move inside to C because of length issues. His athleticism is solid for the bookend, but becomes much higher end when looking at him as an interior lineman. He moves well, and should be an asset as a blocker in space. This move to C comes with no actual experience at the position, so of course, it is a projection. And the biggest issue there is to do with overall mass and strength. While he had enough for the edge, he’ll need to add to it in order to match up against the power that comes in the interior. It will likely take a little bit of time, so he probably isn’t a plug and play starter. But if he makes the necessary improvements, I actually really like upside here. His frame looks like it can take additional mass, so that should come in time, and he already has the athleticism and a solid foundation of technical abilities.
| Grade: 75.4 | Round Grade: 3rd |
Although projected by many, including myself, into C, the Bengals having already taken Connor Lew may change that for Parker. He figures to serve as a versatile depth option, but he’ll likely get more work now at OT, or possibly G now.
This is a value pick, with Parker having graded out as a 3rd round pick on my board. He should be a reliable depth option for the Bengals, and it would not surprise me to one day see him competing for a starting spot somewhere along the offensive line.
