CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – We all know the cliché about “assume.”
Andrew Berry, in his own way Friday morning, cautioned everyone not to assume the Browns are zeroed in on a left tackle with the 10th pick in the upcoming NFL Draft after signing right tackle Jack Conklin in free agency.
“I would not make any assumptions regarding that,” Berry said during a conference call. “Jack [Conklin] has played left tackle before. Chris Hubbard has played left tackle before. Kendall Lamm has played left tackle.
“I would not make any assumptions about what we may or may not do moving forward.”
Berry also feels the emphasis on left tackle is a bit overblown in the modern game.
“Honestly, I think the distinction between left and right tackle is really outdated,” Berry said. “We are no longer in the days of football where teams will have their best rusher and line him up on the defensive right side and offensive left side of the formation. Really, the game is not played that way.”
Georgia’s Andrew Thomas, Mekhi Becton from Louisville and Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs are the top projected offensive tackles available in this class and all three are expected to go quickly on April 23.
“From my perspective, tackles are tackles,” Berry said. “In terms of guys making the switch, certainly, there is an element of muscle memory that needs to be reprogrammed, so to speak, for people who have played one side or the other for a long period of time. If you look, (T) Jack Conklin was a college left tackle that has been a pretty well accomplished right tackle in our league. Perhaps the best example of a career college right tackle who has been a pretty good left tackle in our league is (Cowboys T) Tyron Smith. Sometimes those distinctions can be a bit overemphasized. In today’s game, the two tackle positions may not be identical, but they are pretty close.”
Shoring up the offensive line was a priority for Berry with the signing of Conklin and it will continue to be through the draft and years to come.
“The offensive line is always going to be a priority,” Berry 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.”
