BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Welcome to the 2023 NFL Draft Cleveland.
The Browns are scheduled to begin their participation Friday night after taking round 1 off for a second straight year following the acquisition of Deshaun Watson from Houston last year.
They’re scheduled to start on Day 2 next year as well.
After sending their second-round selection to the New York Jets for receiver Elijah Moore and the 74th overall pick last month, Andrew Berry can go to work adding depth on both sides of the ball starting in round 3 Friday night.
“I think every general manager in this sport has to have a foot in the present and a foot in the future,” Berry said. “That really won’t change now. Maybe how much of your body is leaning present versus future may change as your team either matures or ages out or if they’re really young. Certainly, we believe we have a group of players that will allow us to be competitive in the fall, but that does not mean you punt or don’t consider future years in your planning.”
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Since taking over as executive vice president of football operations in January 2020, Berry has taken draft and develop to another level, and he has a high opinion of his own picks, which is why only one of them – 2020 fifth rounder Richard LeCounte III – out of 22 selections over three years is no longer with the organization.
If Berry stays true to form, his entire draft class is making the final 53.
In addition to No. 74, Berry also has No. 98 in round 3 at his disposal Friday night.
Saturday figures to be busy as the Browns hold six selections – Nos. 111 and 126 in round 4, Nos. 140 and 142 in round 5, No. 190 in round 6 and No. 229 in round 7.
Berry also loves to wheel and deal during the draft so expect some movement up and down the board. A move up into the back end of the second round isn’t far-fetched but trading down is more Berry’s speed.
“Because we look at the draft more through a long-term lens, we probably in general would be more apt to move back than necessarily move up,” Berry said.
With seven selections already in hand for 2024, the need to flip picks forward isn’t urgent.
“There have been certain points where we thought based on what we anticipated the board to look like, where we might have been looking for an escape hatch or we may be interested in trading up,” Berry said. “There are plenty of other situations where we have a player that we like and then you get a call a couple picks away or on Friday or Saturday morning or early afternoon. Here’s an opportunity that we have discussed in generalities when we were doing our strategy planning, but we didn’t necessarily anticipate what would actually come available to us and then you consider it a little bit differently.”
So where do the Browns need help? Simply put, depth.
Because the picks fall in round 3-7, it’s important to temper expectations about the potential for significant immediate impact. That’s not to say Berry won’t find one or two players who can step on the field and contribute immediately but the franchise savior or player that’s going to push them over the top in 2023 probably won’t be found this weekend.
“Ideally, you want to be in a position as a roster where you’re not relying on rookies to have major roles,” Berry said. “Every roster in the NFL will have strengths and weaknesses. There is no perfect roster. There are going to be spots where you maybe rely a little more on younger players, than organizationally you desire. We really want to make sure that as we’re in this lifecycle of the team, we’re in a position where younger players can maybe intergrade into the NFL and develop in the NFL at maybe more of an appropriate pace.”
Berry shored up the receiver room by trading for Moore and signing veteran Marquise Goodwin. Three key needs defensively were also filled in free agency – defensive end Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson and safety Juan Thornhill.
Depth in the trenches on both sides of the ball is a priority and defensive end clearly is on Berry’s wish list.
“I would expect us to add more,” Berry said. “I mean, we are going to get to 90 eventually. I can’t say that it is going to be on draft weekend or in May or in August, but I would expect us to add to that room.”
So is finding another young speedy receiver to develop with Anthony Schwartz’s struggles since being taken in the third round of the 2021 draft.
With rookies expected to contribute on special teams, new special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone along with new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz have been working with Berry and the front office since coming aboard to identify prospects for their respective units.
“It can be easy to underappreciate how hard it is when you are transitioning to a new team as a coach when you are getting to know new staff, you are implementing a new system, you are trying to get prepared for the players are back in the building and then on top of that you have some personnel work as well,” Berry said.