Brian Parler played center in high school and both left and right tackle in college, so naturally, the Bengals plan to play him at guard.
I kid, of course,
Parker lacks the length to play on the outside and projects well at guard.
He’s a Jersey boy by birth but went to high school at St. Xavier in Cincinnati. The Bengals used a sixth-round pick to bring him home.
In both the one-on-one and team clips above, you can see that Parker has quick feet.
You also see a couple of issues that he needs to work on. He lets his base get too wide and gets too high, impacting his ability to anchor and stop the power rush.
These are correctable issues that offensive line coach Scott Peters will get right to work on.
In this clip, Parker leans too much into the defender, but overall, it is a better rep. He gives up some ground, but the way he immediately latches on, you can tell from the start who is going to win the rep.
His issues seem to be with balance and footwork, which fits really well with the expertise of his new offensive line coach.
Where I really like Parker is as a run blocker. Look at this reach block! He is lined up at tackle and has no problem reaching a 2i defensive tackle lined up in the A gap.
This is a very impressive display of athleticism for the 310-pounder.
Here, we get a look at Parker on a frontside double team on outside zone. The 4i defensive tackle comes off the ball wide and looks to strike and engage with Parker.
Parker has great body position and prevents penetration. As the guard gets into position to take over the block, Parker comes off and works up to the next level.
This clip isn’t anything special physically, but it says a lot about his demeanor. He kick steps and makes a nice block on the edge rusher. The guard comes in late and cleans up the block, pancaking the defender. Then they both jump on him and bury him into the ground.
Parker is exactly the kind of mean dude you want on your offensive line. He has some issues that led him to being a late pick, but most of them are correctable with hard work and good coaching.
