GM Andrew Berry zooms in on his first Browns draft

Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.

Takeaways from GM Andrew Berry’s pre-draft teleconference …

1.There has been some griping from experienced GMs – mostly anonymously – about the technological challenges of the NFL’s mandated stay-at-home draft. In truth, this “virtual” draft, with everyone working from home and relying on databases downloaded to multiple devices, actually plays into the strengths of the Browns’ new, young decision-makers.

GM Andrew Berry, 33, has a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s in computer science from Harvard and has grown up in the era of technologically smart devices.

“This is maybe where my particular age demographic is perhaps a little bit helpful,” Berry said. “A lot of the stuff that we use, they are database tools. It is really no different than the video tools and no different than probably a lot of industries around the country. In terms of physically moving things, that is really not a challenge for us.

“We live in the age of technology where we have FaceTime, Zoom, Microsoft Teams and just even picking up the phone and giving people a call. From that perspective, it is different, but it is not a challenge that is insurmountable by any means.”

As for chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta (Harvard, 1995), he has worked mostly remotely from his home in LaJolla, CA, since joining the Browns in 2016. He has been “Zooming” since he was an executive in Major League Baseball.

2.Berry said the keys to his first draft under unusual circumstances is organization, preparation and communication.

“One of the things that we are going to do over the next two weeks as we get our virtual war room, so to speak, set up is we are going to go through a couple of dress rehearsals,” Berry said. “We really just want to get to the point where two weeks from now, it is all about execution and we are ready to go.”

So after the Browns’ IT staff irons out all the secure and fast Internet connections, making sure the databases are all being downloaded properly, then it will come down to the usual key to a successful draft – picking the right players.

“I have full confidence that we are going to be ready to go here in two weeks,” Berry said.

3.By the way, Scott Pioli, who was Bill Belichick’s top personnel aide in New England (2000-09) and later was GM of the Kansas City Chiefs and assistant GM of the Atlanta Falcons, said he’s hoping Berry “knocks it out of the park” in his first Browns draft.

In an appearance on Countdown to the Draft on 850 ESPN Cleveland, Pioli said, “I’ve known Andrew for a while and I have enormous respect for him. He is smart and incredibly thoughtful. I also think he’s an incredible human being. He knows what he has to do and I’m sure he’s going to do it. He’s been around enough good people and studied up on enough people and been mentored by enough real good people that he has an idea. The bottom line is until you sit in that chair, you prepare the best you can. I’m sure he’s going to do a good job.”

Pioli said Belichick always limited his draft room to a select few. Being isolated under these unusual circumstances should be a benefit to a team’s chief decision-maker, he said.

“Because there are fewer people, which means fewer distractions, which means fewer conversations, what that equates to is more focus,” Pioli said.

4.It’s no secret that Berry’s top priority in his first year as GM was upgrading the offensive line, particularly the tackle positions.

“For us, having a young quarterback and being an organization that we want to make sure we can be quarterback-centric and make sure that position has a lot of success, the offensive line is always going to be a priority,” he said. “That is not just this year but any given year because if we can’t protect the quarterback and we can’t create holes in the run game, then it is going to be a really tough challenge for our skill players to produce and play at a high level. It really does start there.”

5.Berry’s most expensive free agent signing was Tennessee right tackle Jack Conklin (three years, $42 million). He also kept a potentially valuable sixth man by redoing the contract of erstwhile starting right tackle Chris Hubbard, who can now swing inside or outside, and right and left.

It would appear that Berry set himself up to find the final piece at left tackle with his first pick in the draft at No. 10.

But he tap-danced around that conclusion by saying the distinction between left tackle and right tackle is “outdated,” and claimed that Conklin, Hubbard and reserve Kendall Lamm each could be candidates for left tackle.

“I would not make any assumptions about what we may or may not do moving forward,” Berry said. “My goal is to make sure that we are adding talent across the roster and adding competition across the roster. That is something that we are looking forward to continuing to do over the next several months.”