It is the Friday before it all begins next week for the Bengals at Paycor Stadium. Three rookie offensive linemen are being mesmerized by some Now-Listen-My-Children-And-You-Shall-Hear words from noted NFL historian Orlando Brown Jr.

By the time Brown, the massive left tackle, went to his fourth Pro Bowl and won his first Super Bowl ring in 2022, Dylan Fairchild, Jalen Rivers and Seth McLaughlin were just starting to figure it out in college.

Now Brown is trying to help them get there in the pros, twisting his body to punctuate this particular technique he's explaining.

Then the Bengals' reigning Walter Payton Man of the Year has to dash to his car to make an appointment at Children's Hospital to speak to kids about the impact of diabetes, one of Brown's many community passions.

Truth be told, Brown, 29, is feeling like a fresh, young rookie himself these days as he stares into his eighth pro season.

Thanks to the old-school NFL Films he's been watching this month to get ready for the grind, particularly a nostalgic look at the 1988 Bengals. Plus, timely YouTube clicks that shed some light on new Bengals Ring of Honor member Lemar Parrish also has got the blood flowing.

And another summer with Joey Boese and assistants Garrett Swanson and Diamond Simmons in the Bengals weight room hasn't hurt, either.

Brown (and everyone else) thought he was having his best season in years in 2024 after he stayed in Cincinnati during the last six-week break and trained with the Bengals staff. He was so strong that when he badly wrenched his knee, it merely broke two bones instead of shredding the ACL. He missed six games, but not the last two. Since the Bengals needed them both, he limped through a total of 164 snaps.

Now the body matches the heart.

"My body feels amazing. I'm in tremendous shape, great football shape," Brown says. "I would tell you, too, all of (2024) was great. But I'm even better now than I was last year. I'm just looking forward to a healthy year. Taking the next step as a player, as a leader, as a teammate, and hopefully we're able to do that as a team as well."

Brown thinks they can after watching those '88 Super Bowl Bengals. He caught them on "America's Game," a series on NFL Films that featured great teams with "Missing Rings," and is almost 20 years old. But it's as fresh as training camp grass. Joe Burrow’s Bengals also have a Missing Ring, and Brown thinks they can find it.

"I do. I do. I think we've got the hardest piece of the puzzle, which is our quarterback," Brown says. "And we've got some other guys that are willing to lay it on the line, man. So I feel like everything is in play. To me, one of the most important parts of winning the championship is having that camaraderie as a team, that togetherness. The willingness to hold each other accountable. And I feel like we've got all of those things. It's the closest we've been as a team in the (three years) I've been here."

Brown admits he's not a Netflix guy. No Quarterback for him yet this summer. He dreams to the drums of NFL Films.

In order to get ready for camp, he's been watching documentaries of great workout artists like Barry Sanders and Walter Payton. He enjoyed watching how the offensive line set the table for Dallas' back-to-back Super Bowl titles on a dive into the 1992 Cowboys. To tune for the AFC North slugfests, he also rewound some Ravens-Steelers replays.

"I watch a lot of NFL Films year-round. But I will tell you, it amplifies a little bit more during this time of year," Brown says. "Just as I get my mind into the course of a season, and the length of a season."

Now he knows the '88 story like a native Cincinnatian.

"I thought it was really special, the connection that the team shared," Brown says. "How they all rolled behind Boomer Esiason's and Tim Krumrie's leadership. How vocal they were. How they lived by actions. You could tell that it was all very important to them, which is one of the reasons they were able to put themselves in such a great position."

How could he not miss the Pro Football Hall of Famer playing his position?

"I think the biggest thing in terms of Anthony Munoz's game that during that time was so unique was the combination that you see a lot of tackles have now," Brown says. "In terms of athleticism, the length, the ability to play in space. Win with your hands, win with your body. In my opinion, Anthony Munoz is the first of the modern-day tackles. The 6-8, 300-pound guy who could move like a cat and was able to be extremely physical."

Munoz was 6-6, 278. Brown is actually 6-8, 340, but small enough to appreciate the work of the 5-11, 185-pound Parrish. When Brown heard Wednesday that Parrish and Dave Lapham (a Brown favorite) are going into the Bengals Ring of Honor, he went right to the tape.

"I was looking up some Lemar Parrish highlights out of curiosity. You see the accolades, and the number of Pro Bowls, interceptions and touchdowns. Which is crazy," Brown says. "I think you even mentioned to me he's number three behind Rod Woodson and Deion Sanders in terms of non-offensive touchdowns (in the 20^th century).

"I mean, you turn on the tape, and truly one of the most gifted athletes to ever play the game in the history of the sport. Seeing some of the things he did on interceptions, you couldn't really throw his way and think that you would be able to float the ball to get it there. Long overdue for the respect that he deserves."

Now after getting ready for another season by watching history, he thinks his team can make history.

"It's very much locked in. I'm very much ready to go, and I'm extremely excited for the opportunity this year and everything that it's going to take to go out here and win a championship," says Brown, who knows where to find rings. "So I'm ready to lay it on the line."