DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk NFL Draft 2026 Pick #145 Parker Brailsford Center Alabama

This was a player I was hoping they'd target on day 3.

From Dane Brugler's write-up...

BACKGROUND
Parker Brailsford, who has two older brothers, grew up outside of Phoenix, with his father (Phil). He was introduced to football at age 7
by his uncle, and it quickly became his favorite sport over tee-ball and basketball. He played on the offensive and defensive lines
throughout little league and started weightlifting in middle school.

Brailsford enrolled at Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Ariz., a program that has produced NFL players such as Christian Kirk, Byron
Murphy and Denzel Burke. He joined the freshman team in 2018 and was named a captain at center and defensive tackle. Brailsford
moved up to varsity as a sophomore and started every game at right guard, which earned him first-team all-region honors. He moved to
center for his junior and senior seasons and earned all-state honors both years. For his senior year, Brailsford led Saguaro to a 12-1
record and the 2021 Class 5A state championship. He was also a standout track athlete and set personal bests of 41 feet, 9 inches in the
shot put and 118-4 in the discus.

A three-star recruit, Brailsford was the 23rd-ranked interior offensive lineman in the 2022 class and the No. 8 recruit in Arizona. He
received his first scholarship offer, from FCS Northern Arizona, after his sophomore season, followed by his first FBS offer (New
Mexico). His first major offer came from USC (July 2020), and he later received offers from Arizona, BYU, Colorado, Kansas State,
Michigan State and Washington State. His final offer came from Washington (May 2021), and he committed a few days later. Even
though Washington fired Jimmy Lake as head coach a few weeks before signing day, Brailsford stayed committed under Kalen DeBoer
and the new staff. He was the third-ranked recruit in DeBoer’s inaugural class at Washington. After Nick Saban retired and DeBoer left
for the Alabama head coaching job in January 2024, Brailsford entered the portal and followed DeBoer to Tuscaloosa.

He graduated from Alabama in August 2025. Brailsford skipped his senior year and entered the NFL Draft. He accepted an invitation to
the Senior Bowl but later pulled out of the event.

STRENGTHS
● Explodes out of his stance with fluidity and balance (elite broad jump)
● Best 10-yard split (1.70 seconds) among all offensive linemen at NFL combine
● Rangy player and comfortably reaches backside defensive tackles
● Gracefully gets where he is going and can be a weapon on screens/climbs
● Dogged hands to engage and stubbornly stay attached
● Sinks hips to neutralize power and slow down bulls
● Sees things quickly and makes split-second reads
● Rarely searching — understands angles/moves and gets to work
● Determined worker — learned to love the weight room at a young age
● Voted a team captain by his teammates in 2025 (Brailsford and QB Ty Simpson captained the offense)
● Durable and plays through bumps and bruises (42 starts over past three seasons)

WEAKNESSES
● Undersized; has always been lighter for the position
● Not a people-mover in the run game (and never will be)
● Blocks with a wide base, which hurts reaction quickness to inside moves
● Struggles to recover once he loses leverage
● Can be pushed from his spot by angle blocks
● Penalized 17 times over three seasons as a starter, including five flags (three holds, two false starts) in 2025
● Saw some time at guard but likely a center-only prospect in NFL

SUMMARY
A two-year starter at Alabama (and three-year starter overall), Brailsford was the center (right-handed snapper) in offensive coordinator
Ryan Grubb’s zone-based scheme. He was a key part of Washington’s Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line in 2023, which helped
the Huskies reach the national championship game. He then anchored the Tide’s offensive line the past two seasons.
A twitched-up big man, Brailsford fires out of his stance to cut off pass-rush angles or reach in the run game. He lacks the mass and
power to manhandle defenders but plays stronger than his size would indicate, and his long wingspan is an asset for him. His range can
be weaponized on screens/pulls/climbs, though he needs to be more consistent picking off targets in space. Overall, Brailsford will
only appeal to certain teams, because of his frame, but he is light on his feet, tough as nails and can handle
everything from a mental standpoint. He has the potential to be a starter for a scheme living in an outside-zone
world.

A 290lb center against the likes of Heyward, Madubuike, and now Dexter Lawrence twice each season. Yea, I don't know. This is not the division for undersized centers. It's not like Alabama is a program that overlooks weightroom maxxing. Unless he can pack on another 20-30 in the a$$ or have a miraculous late growth spurt, I con't see him as anything but depth. With is fine for the 5th. Wish we got a center earlier.

Brailsford sounds a lot like the C we drafted a few years ago Nick Harris.

Yeah - except he is a lot faster, smarter, and stronger than Nick Harris.

We'll see. Player weight doesn't always translate to player strength. Just looking up average NFL center weight on AI it said the average weight of an NFL center is 308.

He is on the lighter side of the average but not outside the lighter weight. Much will depend on the blocking scheme we intend to use.

It was said that we targeted Brailsford from the beginning, if we can believe that. If so, we know what we have and see him as a fit.

I kind of agree with you and kind of don't. As with you, I agree the weight isn't a big issue since it's not a lot lower than average but still it's lighter than optimum. The difference is that I believe that will be corrected with an NFL trainer and dietician to correct and add some pounds.

If it were a lot of weight he needed to gain it would concern me that it might negatively impact his athleticism. But I think they can add 15-20 pounds to his frame and not have any great impact to his skill set.

Not sure what his BMI is but 290 lbs of muscle is better than 315 pounds and flabby

Definitely, but it is still 25 lbs less and easier to move.

BUT he is only 6"2 not 6'4 or 6'5 so he is more compact.

I don't expect the plan is a lot of straight drop backs, so I don't think we're going to ask him to sit and hold up on his own against massive DTs. I think we're going to have him on the move as much as possible. More zone blocking where you have everyone moving laterally at the snap. It's the old physics equation. He doesn't have the mass of others, so he's going to have to use acceleration more to create his force. Play action to slow down the rush. Win with angles and leverage. He's shorter but does have pretty good arm length.

We'll see how it works.

I’m sure the training staff will have him lifting and put on a little weight. He’s not a finished product

Like him developmental center
Having a center that can blow off a edge setter is not all bad

You just don't want him going up against any 340 lb NT's anytime soon....

Or ... we have him drop 10-15# and make him the run blocking Fb/TE