Dexter Lawrence already gave Bengals rookie his welcome to the NFL moment

Although the Cincinnati Bengals return all five starters on their offensive line, rookie sixth-round pick Brian Parker II has an outside shot to start by next season. That's especially so if he capitalizes on the so-called "iron sharpens iron" football cliché.

What do I mean by this? Well, Parker has gotten a taste of what it's like to merely practice against Bengals All-Pro defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.

Few interior offensive linemen have success keeping Sexy Dexy in check. Parker found this out the hard way before the pads have gone on.

Bengals OL Brian Parker II details hilarious introduction to Dexter Lawrence

In an interview on First Word With James Rapien, Parker revealed how his first encounter with Lawrence went down, and how he already got his "welcome to the NFL" moment:

"When Dexter walked in for the first time I was like, 'That is probably the biggest human I've ever seen. And he's ripped. [...] Dex is jacked...I had my welcome to the NFL moment. It's been good. You really see where your technique breaks down when you're going against Dex."

Parker detailed how he had to threaten Lawrence's outside shoulder while he was trying to pull off a reach block for a wide zone running play. Unfortunately, Lawrence's combination of explosiveness and strength proved too quick and overwhelming for Parker, who went for a ride before he could move enough laterally to execute the block.

This little clip underscores how much of a force multiplier Lawrence is for the Bengals. In addition to elevating the players around him on defense, the longtime New York Giants standout will make the teammates who line up across from him in practice far better as well.

Skeptics can say Lawrence wasn't one of the NFL offseason's best acquisitions. It won't make it anywhere close to true.

Anyway, I'd like to dive into some other takeaways from Parker's brief remarks. There's a lot there upon closer examination.

The hidden details in Brian Parker II's Dexter Lawrence story are the juiciest of all

Yes, Parker's candor about squaring off with Lawrence was humorous. That's not all there is to see here, however.

Beyond the scope of Parker's comments and how well they reflect on him, two bigger-picture things stand out here that make me very excited. To my knowledge, they've yet to be revealed to the general public.

First off, Parker noted how he lined up at center for his "welcome" play versus Lawrence. That's a big positive that Cincinnati is deploying Parker at that spot so soon, because third-round pick Connor Lew is still recovering from an ACL, and veteran Ted Karras is in the midst of a contract year. The only other center on the depth chart is Jacob Bayer.

Parker could be a swing tackle (he played both tackle spots at Duke), but he's far better suited to play guard or center in the NFL. Looks like the Bengals coaching staff has a real plan for him. You love to see it.

Second intriguing subplot: The fact that Cincinnati was running a wide zone play in the first place.

Not to get too in the weeds about football schematics, but from what I've seen during the Joe Burrow era, the Bengals have had a shockingly elementary rushing attack from a play design standpoint. Oh so vanilla. Lots of power runs, inside zones and draw packages from tailback sidecar shotgun formations. They'll get crazy and throw a duo run in there every now and then.

Some of that lacking schematic imagination is due to the fact that, for too long, the Bengals didn't want to get with the 21st century when it comes to athleticism in the offensive trenches. That's part of why Burrow has gotten hit and hurt so much. Thankfully, Cincinnati has modernized its approach in that department of late, and Joe Brrr has the best o-line of his career on paper entering 2026.

With better athletes up front, the Bengals can now actually execute more exotic runs that get their big fellas on the move in space. Whether it's outside zone, pin and pull, long trap, GT counters, or any number of other wrinkles, the playbook should be opened up this year thanks to the continuity up front and, again, this particular unit's superior movement skills compared to their lumbering predecessors.

But getting creative in the run game depends on Burrow's willingness to go under center more. He doesn't like to roll like that. Thus, Burrow himself deserves a bit of blame for the lack of diversity in Cincinnati's running plays throughout his career.

Having said all of that, just a little more will go a long way. Burrow is going to lead perhaps the best passing attack in the NFL. He has a capable lead back in Chase Brown who can execute whatever is required.

Who Dey Heads, we are eating good this offseason.

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