Cincinnati Bengals' Dive Into OL Depth Could Be Most Underrated Move of Their Draft

The last time the Cincinnati Bengals started the same five offensive linemen in a season opener that they started in the previous season finale was 2010.

Barring injury, that’s expected to happen again this fall with Orlando Brown Jr., Dylan Fairchild, Ted Karras, Dalton Risner and Amarius Mims providing the continuity.

It’s arguably the best offensive line they will roll out during the Joe Burrow era – and probably well before that – with Fairchild and Risner having one season in Zac Taylor’s offense under their belts.

Despite all of that, the Bengals still used 29 percent of their draft capital (two of seven) picks on offensive linemen as their look to raise their comfort level with the depth to be on par with where it stands with the starters.

With their third pick of the draft and first of two in the fourth round, the Bengals selected Auburn center Connor Lew with the obvious idea of him being the heir apparent to Karras, who is 33 and entering the final year of his contract.

Two rounds later, they selected Duke’s Brian Parker II, who made all 33 of his starts in college at tackle (27 right, six left) but is viewed as someone who can play any position on the offensive line.

Both picks are interesting, but let’s start with Lew.

He earned Freshman All-American status in 2023 at the age of 18, playing against many SEC behemoths who are spread across NFL rosters.

He was a team captain last year despite being just 19 when preseason camp began.

The belief among many analysts is that Lew would have been at least a second-round pick had it not been for the ACL injury he suffered midway through last season.

“He is going to be a really good complement with our guys at the center position,” Bengals assistant general manager Steven Radicevic said. “(He’s) wired the right way – team captain, leader. He’s really good at pass protection, and he’s good in the run game.”

Lew said his recovery from ACL surgery is going great and is ahead of schedule. He anticipates being 100 percent for the start of training camp in July.

Though he’s only 20 and won’t turn 21 until Aug. 30, Lew said he listened to his coaches and looked at the demand for centers across the league and used that to declare for the draft at such a young age.

“I think that’s part of doing your due diligence, especially when I had the choice of going back to college or coming out. You have to think about things like that,” Lew said. “The biggest thing was I just felt ready. I talked to the people close to me. I talked to my coaches, and it’s always been a dream of mine to play in the NFL and get the opportunity.”

If Lew gets into the game on offense or special teams in Week 1, he will become the second youngest Bengals player to appear in a game since at least the 1970 merger.

Here are the five youngest.

LB Kevin Jefferson (20 years, 289 days) on Oct. 30, 1994.

LB Eric Shaw (21-32) on Oct. 19, 1992

DE Robert Geathers (21-46) on Sept. 26, 2004

RB Joe Mixon (21-48) on Sept. 10, 2017

OT Willie Anderson (21-52) on Sept. 1, 1996

Taylor said Lew’s maturity belies his age and note how the Auburn product could make his NFL debut at younger age than Taylor was as a freshman in college.

“I was thinking back — I was a redshirt freshman in junior college when I was 21 years old,” he said. “So to be 20 and going to the NFL, (there is) a lot of upside in front of him. To have played two-and-a-half years as a starting center in the SEC, we feel really good about his progression off the injury he had.

“(Offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher) and our line coaches have spent time with the interview process and really stood on the table for him, that he’s going to fit in great in the locker room and o-line room, which is critical for us,” Taylor added. “Really excited to add him to the mix and get him in here competing.”

Learning at the hip of a veteran leader such as Karras should help accelerate Lew’s immersion into the NFL. And the lack of urgency to crack the lineup will allow him to remain focused on getting his knee where it needs to be rather than rushing to get on the field.

Radicevic said adding a center was a key part of the team’s plan heading into the weekend.

“It was important,” he said. “We’ve got Ted (Karras), and Ted is our guy. But we do need some competition in that room, and we were thin at the center position.”

The Bengals recently waived 2024 seventh-round pick Matt Lee, and they let Lucas Patrick leave in free agency.

The only other player on the roster who played center in the NFL or college was Jacob Bayer, a 2025 undrafted free agent from Arkansas State.

The Bengals traded down 18 spots from 110 to 128 in order to turn one of their sixth-round picks into another fourth (moving up from 199 to 140).

There were only three centers off the board at that point, and Lew survived the 18-pick move.

Parker, a Cincinnati native who played at St. Xavier High School, never played center, but a lot of scouts view that as his position of the future, including The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, who listed as the No. 6 center in the 2026 class in The Beast.

He also will have chance to compete with Cody Ford to be the swing tackle.

“He has a lot of flexibility along the offensive line,” Taylor said. “We just feel like there’s a lot of flexibility there to play tackle, guard and center. He can really play all five positions for you.”

Considering how much the Bengals added to their defensive line, Lew and Parker are going to face some big tests right off the bat in training camp.

Here is what Brugler wrote on both Lew and Parker in The Beast.

On Lew: The (Auburn) coaching staff didn’t hesitate to put a lot on his plate, and he proved himself by setting protections and making run-game alerts based on defensive structure. He has decent base strength to wall-off run lanes and stalemate bull rushers, when he stays in position. His hands are active but lack voltage, and he will never be much of a people mover.

“Overall, Lew isn’t a strong drive blocker and needs to develop better consistency, but he has the movement skills and instincts to get the job done in the NFL. He has starting potential, if he stays healthy and proves he can match up physically with NFL power.”

On Parker: Parker excels in zone looks with his burst out of his stance and balance into contact. He works hard to stay centered with rapid, tight strikes, although anchoring at shallow depth versus NFL length and power will be a new challenge. Drive blocking won’t be his forte at the next level, but he is efficient at unlocking his hips and rolling them into defenders.

“Overall, Parker will lose tug-of-war battles with long-levered defenders, but his athletic ability, competitive toughness and intelligence are traits needed for a long NFL career. He projects as a versatile guard/center backup and would have starting potential in the right situation.”

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