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Could this Browns rookie become a key starter in 2026?
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- Could this Browns rookie become a key starter in 2026?
As the Cleveland Browns continue to navigate the 2026 NFL offseason, the struggling franchise is set to have plenty of new faces on offense heading into the upcoming season.
General manager Andrew Berry made it a point of emphasis this offseason to acquire new offensive players, as the Browns signed guards Zion Johnson and Elgton Jenkins during the free-agent period. In addition to the front office’s efforts to address the offensive line, Cleveland also managed to walk away with two offensive tackles in the 2026 NFL Draft in Utah’s Spencer Fano and Florida’s Austin Barber .
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While Fano and the rest of the newest offensive linemen will look to completely revamp the offense in 2026, one of the Browns’ fifth-round picks in the most recent NFL Draft, Alabama center Parker Brailsford, has begun to make a name for himself despite his minimal time with the organization.
Could Brailsford become the Browns’ starting center in 2026?
Brailsford, who was widely considered one of the top centers in this year’s draft class, began his college career with the Washington Huskies in 2023. During his one-year stint with the Huskies, the talented offensive lineman played a key role in the program’s National Championship run, as he finished the season with 11 quarterback hurries and one sack on 612 pass blocking snaps.
His incredible efforts at Washington allowed him to enter the transfer portal and follow his head coach, Kalen DeBoer, to Alabama , where he became the team’s starter for the next two seasons. Throughout his time with the Crimson Tide, Brailsford continued to display his stout play up front, allowing a total of 16 quarterback hurries and one sack. Despite his struggles in the run game, his tape and his elite showing at the 2026 NFL Combine paved the way for him to be selected in the fifth round by the Browns.
Standing at 6-foot-2, 290 lbs., Brailsford’s size makes him an outlier amongst the rest of the centers in the NFL. Still, head coach Todd Monken’s offensive game plan tends to force the center to move around in both the pass and run game, and Brailsford luckily has a terrific ability to move laterally around the field. Browns Director of Player Personnel Adam Al-Khayyel mentioned this as a key reason why Cleveland targeted the young center during the draft, stating that athletic centers are a critical part of Monken’s offense.
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“You have seen Coach Monken play with an athletic center with a range and do a lot of creative stuff in the run game, and that certainly is appealing in terms of Parker and how we would deploy him,” Al-Khayyel stated.
With Brailsford showing progress throughout the rookie training camp period, the 22-year-old center could eventually become a starter by the end of his first NFL season, which could allow for Jenkins to move to the guard position alongside Johnson.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Could this Browns rookie become a key starter in 2026?
