We’re rolling along with our series highlighting a few fun facts about each draft pick for the Cincinnati Bengals, with the help of Dane Brugler’s The Beast draft guide.
Moving into the fifth round, we are taking a look at the second interior offensive lineman selected by the Bengals, Brian Parker II of Duke.
He’s a hometown kid
First and foremost, he’ll be easy for Bengals fans to root for because he knows the area very well. While he was born on the Jersey shore, he moved to Cincinnati when he was in the third grade and played his high school football at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati. Luke Kuechly, who will officially be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August, is among the alumni of St. Xavier’s.
Parker was part of the 2020 team that won the state championship, going 11-1. He also played lacrosse in high school.
His cousin has played in the NBA Finals
Parker is part of a family with plenty of athletic background. His father played football and his grandfather played basketball at Bucknell.
His cousin happens to be Derick Lively II of the Dallas Mavericks, the No. 12 overall pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2023 NBA Draft. He was traded to Dallas a month later for Davis Bertans and Cason Wallace.
Lively was part of the 2024 Mavericks team that made a run to the NBA Finals, losing to the Boston Celtics in five games. Lively averaged 7.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 0.95 blocks per game in the 2024 playoffs. Dallas has not reached the postseason since that Finals appearance.
Will be transitioning to interior offensive line, played entire college career at tackle
Parker will be a classic developmental project on the inside but has upside to make the transition. Parker started 33 games while at Duke, all of which were at either left or right tackle. In total, Parker played 2,335 offensive snaps in college, all on the outside. He did practice at center during the East-West Shrine Bowl.
Parker did start at center for over two years while in high school, so it’s not like he’s never snapped a football.
Has not missed a start due to injury in two seasons
Parker started a total of 26 games over the last two seasons and 33 total starts in the last three seasons, including 32 straight. That includes Duke’s ACC championship victory over Virginia. Duke, as we know, was not ranked in the final top 25 by the selection committee and were left out of the College Football Playoff. Parker ultimately decided to skip Duke’s bowl game, a 42-39 victory over Arizona State in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl.
His girlfriend is the daughter of a Hall of Fame tackle
Parker certainly has plenty of connections to Hall of Fame players. In addition to Kuechly, Parker has a connection to Hall of Fame offensive tackle Tony Boselli. Parker’s girlfriend is Alexis Boselli, Tony’s daughter. Tony is now the executive vice president of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Three-time Academic All-ACC selection
Parker was a scholar on and off the field. He was a Second-Team All-ACC selection in 2024 and 2025 and was also a three-time Academic All-ACC selection. Parker graduated in December with a degree in ecomonics.
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Brian Parker fun facts: Bengals’ OL rookie could be long-term starter
Reporting by Billy Riccette, Bengals Wire / Bengals Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
