The Cleveland Browns started the fifth round with five picks to make. With the first one, they used it to continue securing their offensive line. To do that, they selected the Alabama center, Parker Brailsford, to add more depth to their offensive line.
Brailsford's college career began in 2023 with the Washington Huskies, where he saw immediate playing time. He started 13 games at the center position and two at right guard. After that year, he transferred to Alabama, where he spent the next two years before heading to the NFL Draft.
Here are three things to get to know the new Browns' center.
According to the consensus boards, Brailsford was slated as the number two-ranked center and was projected to be a third-round pick, and Cleveland got him in the fifth round. Over his career, he has shown all of the natural abilities needed to be successful at the position.
Parker Brailsford was the No. 2 center on PFSN’s consensus big board. @IC_Draft calls him “a natural” at the position. 👀 pic.twitter.com/4rZxCwpFa1
Durability, again, is the name of the game for all of Cleveland's draft picks. The Browns have continually battled injuries year after year. Yes, they are all part of the game, and they are going to happen, but Brailsford is yet another in their list of draft picks who maxed out the number of games that they could have played.
He appeared in 15 games in his freshman year at center and guard for Washington before transferring to Alabama and playing in all 27 of his games. In that time, he allowed just two sacks from the center position.
Brailsford is very undersized for his position and for an NFL offensive line, period. He stands at 6'2" and weighs in at just 289 pounds. That's not always a horrible thing for centers as they can use their leverage against bigger guys, but it is definitely a negative.
What is positive is that, again, like the other draft picks, Brailsford is extremely athletic. He tested out as an 8.65 RAS and is one of the more athletic offensive linemen in this class.
Parker Brailsford was drafted in round 5 with pick 146 in the 2026 draft class. He scored a 8.65 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 100 out of 735 OC from 1987 to 2026.https://t.co/27yYwhXuTm pic.twitter.com/9lspTf6tZQ
Brailsford is going to join the Browns' offensive line with an opportunity to compete for the backup position, and if he does enough to earn the starting spot, it could really free up Elgton Jenkins to move to guard, and the Browns will really be in good shape.
Brailsford could be a focal point of the growth of this offensive line if he can have an accelerated development timeline that gets him on the field sooner rather than later.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns NFL Draft: Getting to know durable center Parker Brailsford