Browns GM Andrew Berry not lamenting without a first-round pick for third year in a row

Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.

Takeaways from Browns GM Andrew Berry’s pre-draft press conference …

1. Coming of age: Andrew Berry is in his fifth year as Browns GM and he’s still the youngest GM in the NFL at age 37. At NFL owners meetings three weeks ago, Berry disclosed that addressing the media was not his favorite task. “That was the thing I dreaded the most about the job, was talking to you all,” Berry said. The good news is that Berry has grown into the task and is much more comfortable taking questions and having his words blown up into headlines. The bad news (for media, and fans) is that Berry still guards his thoughts on the draft and is reluctant to offer any insight about the coming draft in general, much less his plans on using his picks – a total of six in the NFL draft next weekend. Case in point: “Andrew, which positions in this draft are deeper than others?” Andrew: “I understand the question, but you’re going to hate me for saying this, but good players [are available] at every position.”

2. The Watson mega-trade affect: This is the third and final year of the Browns’ being without a first-round pick because of the trade for Deshaun Watson in 2022. How does Berry feel the Browns have weathered this period? “Time will tell,” he said. “I think that there are a variety of ways to build a team. I think the Rams, if they keep their first-round pick, it’s the first, first-round pick that they’ll have in the [coach] Sean McVay era. I also think the reality of the first-round picks … it weighs like 50 percent [success rate]. They’re lottery tickets. They’re good lottery tickets at the end of the day, and they’re highly valuable. But even if you have a first-round pick, it’s certainly not a certain thing. So, I think maybe having a level of realism in terms of what can be achieved with your pool of resources or your assets, you know, that’s really part of it. But we’ve been pretty systematic in terms of how we’re going to deploy our picks, our dollars, how we’re going to manufacture picks, to make it up with volume. So, we feel pretty good about where the roster sits today. But look, we are looking forward to having one back next year for sure.”

3. But what about …?: I pressed Berry on the idea that because of the trade, he doesn’t have an influx of first-round draft picks who are coming into their prime – the 2022 pick entering his third season, the 2023 pick entering his second season, and now the 2024 pick entering his first season. That infusion of high-caliber talent would make a difference in the team. Berry responded, “Yeah, I think, it’s probably less about where you select them [versus] how they perform. We have a really strong young nucleus, you know, with our team, and we don’t feel internally like there’s a huge gap in terms of our young veteran pool of players. If anything, the question becomes how do we retain as many of these guys as possible as we get into a phase where they’re going to get in their mid-twenties and be eligible for second deals?”

4. Stay or trade?: In the Watson trade era, Berry has also traded his second-round pick every year. In 2022, he traded the 44^th overall pick to Houston for three picks that resulted in cornerback Martin Emerson, defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey and kicker Cade York. In 2023, he traded the 42^nd overall pick to the Jets for wide receiver Elijah Moore and the 74^th overall pick, which the Browns used on wide receiver Cedric Tillman. This year, the Browns’ top pick is No. 54 overall in the second round. Berry said he would have a better feel of his intentions “once we get to 10 picks out.” “It really just depends on how the [draft] board falls,” he said. “So, I’m not sure [if he’ll trade out again], as we sit here today, but we’ll see if we can break the trend of making three years in a row without a second-round pick.”

5. Why add a 7^th-round pick?: Last week the Browns traded offensive tackle Leroy Watson to the Titans for the 227^th overall pick in the seventh round. The Browns also own the 243^rd overall pick in the seventh round. Surely, Berry isn’t collecting seventh-round picks to target players in the final round of the draft. “It’s a resource,” Berry said. “It’s a trade that we thought could give us a resource that we could use effectively. How we deploy that resource remains to be seen. It could be we could select players with those two picks. It could be part of a move up. It could be part of a move down. It could be a trade for a veteran player. You just never know. So, we’ll be open and flexible in terms of how we use them.”

6. Chubb update: Last week the Browns and running back Nick Chubb reached agreement on a contract restructuring that amounted to a $9.5 million pay cut for Chubb in 2024. The deal strongly suggests that Chubb and the Browns agree that Chubb’s severe knee injury won’t allow him to make a significant impact on the 2024 season. “I think you guys have heard me say he’s really attacked [his rehab] very aggressively since he’s been able to in the fall,” Berry said. “He’s going at a good pace. It’s still early. You know, he actually started running on land this past week. That’s not to say that, you know, he’s through the woods or anything, but he’s doing everything in his power. He’s progressing appropriately, but certainly the next few weeks, next few months, will be big as we continue to increase the load that he’s able to put on his knee and then how much he’s ultimately able to do during his training.” Berry then related an anecdote of from Chris Cooper, the Browns’ top contract negotiator, that put Chubb’s potential return to the field in 2024 in perspective. “He was like, ‘I’ll be honest, one of the coolest moments that I’m probably looking forward to the most, and may be at the top, is the next time that Nick Chubb runs out of that tunnel right before a game at Cleveland Browns Stadium.’ And I think Chris’s sentiments probably speak for a lot of people in this room and a lot of people in the fan base,” Berry said. In other words: Just getting Chubb back on the field in 2024 would be quite the achievement.

7. Newsome update: Cornerback Greg Newsome has been the subject of trade conjecture for two reasons: 1. He’s seen as a starting cornerback in some quarters, but 2. He’d be an expensive third cornerback with the Browns if they pick up his fifth-year option for $13.3 million in 2025 by May 2. Here’s Berry’s take: “I want as many good corners as possible. Going back to my point about the league playing in 11 personnel [one back, one tight end, three receivers]. Your base offense and defense is really more three receivers and three corners in this day and age. So that’s really how we think about it. Even though we’re technically a 4-3 [defensive base alignmen], you know, how many snaps will you realistically see us play in base? Not very many over the course of the season. So corners are a premium position. We have three guys who can play press-man coverage at a very, very high level. That’s not a skill set that I’m looking to give away.”