CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Draft week is upon us and with that speculation as to what the Browns will ultimately do at 26 has begun to heat up.
The mock drafts are all over the board from linebacker to corner to defensive line to receiver.
As he should, Browns executive vice president of football operations Andrew Berry is keeping his cards close to his chest, but he did offer a glimpse into his overall philosophy during a Zoom video conference previewing the draft last Friday.
“In general, how I view the draft is we really go into the mindset of really trying to maximize the long-term impact on our roster,” Berry said. “It is less about filling a need or some level of instant gratification on the roster and more about a longer-term focus on the team. That all being said, I like where we are picking, and not just at 26 but at 59, 89, 91, 110 and so forth.
“There are plenty of opportunities where we can add young players who can grow with us over the next several years.”
Last year Berry made six selections in the draft and he made two trades during the draft.
Berry enters this year’s draft with nine picks to work with – Nos. 26, 59, 89, 91, 110, 132, 169, 211 and 257 – which give him the ability to move up and down the board as he sees fit.
“I think the positioning in this draft allows us to be very flexible, whether that is moving up, down or sitting and picking,” Berry said. “Largely, that will be dictated by how the board falls ahead of us. I think we have a lot of flexibility going into Thursday night.”
Could Berry move out of the first round altogether?
“I am going to guess a quiet Thursday night would not be popular amongst this audience,” Berry said while laughing. “I will tell you that I am comfortable if we pick, I am comfortable if we move out and I am comfortable if we move up. Largely, it depends on circumstance, but I am not married to really any particular decision certainly days from us knowing what the first pick of the draft is going to be.”
Berry has 168 players, 114 he has labeled “draftable” and another 54 that are listed as “priority free agents,” on his board he'll be choosing from Thursday through Saturday.
This offseason Berry filled the Browns’ immediate needs, especially on defense by signing Jadeveon Clowney, Takkarist McKinley, Anthony Walker, John Johnson III and Troy Hill.
If you’re thinking that helps narrow Berry’s focus later this week, think again.
“From my perspective, I think free agency, at least for me, has a lot less of an impact on the draft than it is maybe perceived,” Berry said. “That is not to say that it is does not have some level of influence, but it goes back to what I said earlier that I really think of the draft as maximizing long-term sustainable impact on the team. Certainly, need or position of value, all of that can play a role in it, but by no means is it the primary goal and not even close to the primary weighting in terms of the draft decisions.
“Honestly, that is how teams make mistakes.”
