From now until the 2026 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top-10 picks, all the way to Day 3 selections and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Alabama C Parker Brailsford.
No. 72 PARKER BRAILSFORD/C ALABAMA – 6-2, 289 POUNDS (RS JUNIOR)
MEASUREMENTS
Player Ht/Wt Hand Size Arm Length Wingspan
Parker Brailsford 6-2/289 9 1/2″ 32″ N/A
40-Yard Dash 10-Yard Dash Short Shuttle 3-Cone
4.95 1.70 4.72 DNP
Broad Jump Vertical Bench Press
09’10″ 32.5″ 27
THE GOOD
– Has a good understanding of body positioning in the run game, sets his blocks up well, and seals defenders off
– Impressive technique latching onto blocks, quickly turns his back to the hole
– Can chip defenders and quickly get to the second level
– Keeps head on a swivel during blocks
– Recognizes defenders looping inside on stunts and confidently passes blocks off to teammates
– Enough speed to be a useful puller
– Twitchy player with impressive burst in short areas
– Keeps his legs moving throughout blocks
– Solid hand placement in pass protection
– Plays with a tough mentality, will finish each play to the whistle
– Recognizes delayed blitzes
– Maintains a low pad level
– Quick hands
– Limited experience playing guard at the collegiate level
– Played through an ankle injury towards the end of the 2025 season
THE BAD
– Undersized build for the position, simply hard for him to overcome at times
– Can get grabby when beaten
– Occasionally plays too frantically and takes bad angles when getting to the second level
– Doesn’t bring much pop as a puller
– Can struggle to maintain anchor against powerful bull rushes
– Won’t jolt defenders back on first contact or reset the line of scrimmage
– Too many penalties
– Doesn’t have enough arm length to make up for lack of mass/strength
STATS
– Started all 14 games he played in 2025
– Started all 13 games in first year at Alabama in 2024, after starting all 15 for Washington in 2023
– Started two games at right guard in 2023
– PFF gave him a 66.1 overall grade in 2025, 105th of 307 eligible centers
– Earned 77.2 pass-blocking grade, 87th of all centers
– Earned 60.6 run-blocking grade, 171st of all centers
– Allowed 10 total pressures in 2025 per PFF
– Allowed one sack and two QB hits, flagged for five penalties in 2025
– 17 total penalties in collegiate career
– 42 total games, 27 at Alabama and 15 at Washington
– Caught one pass for two yards in 2025
– Awards: 2025 All-SEC Third Team, 2025 SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week against Vanderbilt and LSU, 2024 FWAA Second-Team All-American, 2023 FWAA First-Team Freshman All-American
INJURY HISTORY
– 2025: Suffered a high ankle sprain late in the 2025 season, which caused him to miss a game against Eastern Illinois. Played through the injury for the remainder of the year, was called a “warrior” by Alabama OC Ryan Grubb
BACKGROUND
– DOB: October 20th, 2003 (22-years old)
– Hometown: Scottsdale, AZ
– Graduated from Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, AZ
– Consensus four-star recruit
– Committed to Washington in 2021, redshirted the 2022 season, and played for the Huskies in 2023
– Entered transfer portal after 2023 season and went to Alabama for next two years
– Named permanent team captain for the 2025 season
– Former teammate of Troy Fautanu at Washington, who called him the “best center in the country” after he transferred to Alabama
– Alabama OC Ryan Grubb appreciated the “calm” leadership Brailsford brought to the offense
TAPE BREAKDOWN
As a smaller center, Parker Brailsford knows how to move and understand his body positioning in the run game.
He doesn’t bring enough power to reset the line of scrimmage by himself. But he has enough of an anchor to seal defenders off in the run game. He does a great job latching onto this block immediately. He quickly turns his back to the hole, leaving it open for the running back, who picks up a decent gain.
However, that lack of power can hurt Brailsford, as it occasionally leads to penalties. When bigger defenders bull rush him, things can go awry.
In these situations, he struggles to immediately secure his anchor, especially if he can’t latch onto the block. He grabs and pulls the defender down, getting flagged in the process.
While Brailsford can typically seal defenders off well with his body position, he plays frantically at times. That can lead to overaggression, which gets him out of position.
Brailsford snaps the ball, then pulls to the left here. He correctly locates his next block, but comes in too hot, overrunning the defender. While he forces the defender to the outside, that defender makes an impact on the tackle.
However, when he plays more controlled as he heads to the second level, Brailsford’s technique looks impressive.
Here, he snaps the ball and immediately takes the linebacker to his right. He takes a good angle to cut the defender off. As he makes his block, he turns his back to the hole to shield the defender off. Textbook technique here.
I like the way Brailsford keeps his head on a swivel. Brailsford is excellent at passing defenders off to his teammates and watching for stunts or late rushes coming into his zone.
He takes the nose tackle on this play and pushes him to his right. After securing the block, Brailsford notices the edge rusher stunting inside. He realizes it, passes the block off to the defender on his right, and neutralizes the inside rush, while steering the pressure away from his quarterback.
Brailsford shows good technique when chipping before reaching the second level. Watch how he opens up the middle of the field on this play.
He immediately chips the defender to his right, helping his guard seal that man off. Brailsford quickly reaches the second level, where he meets the middle linebacker. Although he doesn’t seal him, he holds the block long enough for his running back to read it and scramble past.
However, sometimes that technique just isn’t enough when you’re an undersized center, like Brailsford is.
Brailsford starts the play well. He quickly reaches the second level, locates his block, and takes a good angle to the defender. But the linebacker shrugs Brailsford aside here and helps make the tackle. Against NFL linebackers, this could be a bigger issue.
CONCLUSION
There’s a lot to like about Parker Brailsford. He’s extremely quick for the position. Brailsford fires off the ball, has the speed to pull to the second level quickly, and is very quick in short areas. He plays tougher than his size and keeps his head on a swivel, locating late blitzers in pass protection.
That said, his size limits him. Brailsford plays with a respectable amount of tenacity, but his lack of size will hurt him against bigger defensive tackles. He doesn’t bring enough pop to reset the line of scrimmage and can get caved in by stronger defenders using a bull rush. This can make him frantic at times. Brailsford will need to learn how to die slowly at the NFL level and avoid penalties once he gets beaten.
Parker Brailsford has often been compared to undrafted free agent Aaron Brewer, who entered the league in 2020. Brewer also had excellent mobility and could play guard. Brewer didn’t have much pop, but had solid technique in the run game. He was a Second-Team All-Pro for Miami in 2025, and I’m not sure Brailsford will reach the same level, but there are some similarities.
NFL Projection: Early Day 3
Steelers Depot Draft Grade: 7.5 (Spot Starter)
Grade Range: 6.7-7.9
Games Watched: at Florida State (2025), at Georgia (2025), vs Indiana (2025, playoffs), vs LSU (2025), vs Vanderbilt (2025)
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