Browns Draft Plan: Being Andrew Berry

The last time new Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry had an office in Berea, Ohio, the Browns draft plan involved two trades that included first round picks. Berry then went to work under ultra aggressive GM Howie Roseman in Philadelphia before coming back to Cleveland. When free agency came, Berry showed a determination to get the players he coveted. Jack Conklin, viewed by most as the best tackle available, is now a Brown. Tight end Austin Hooper was lured away from Atlanta. A relatively small trade was made with the Broncos to get a key addition for coach Kevin Stefanski’s offense, fullback Andy Janovich.

All this adds up to the likelihood that Berry will be active on draft night. We will all find out what that activity will result in on April 23rd. I, however, have finally settled on what I think Berry should do. With the moves that were made in free agency, I think there is a way to both gain assets for the future and fill huge needs on this team. So, on draft day, I am going to do my best to channel my inner John Cusack and will Berry to follow this five step plan. For one Sunday, I will see what it is like Being Andrew Berry.

Sunday, April 23rd, 2020 10:53AM

Step 1- Getting a Second Pick

We are about nine hours away from the draft. I’m watching film in my office when the phone rings. It’s Rick Spielman, Minnesota Vikings general manager. We have been talking for about a week, but not about a star player. To pull off the plan I have, I need to make a deal with the Vikings for pick 25 in the first round. I’ve been talking to the Dolphins and Seahawks, too, since the Dolphins have so many picks and the Seahawks are the Seahawks and it’s a first round pick. I know, though, that my easiest road goes through Spielman.

Stefanski has been talking to me about all the players they lost. I found this little known writer on twitter and read a great article about all the holes they have, even. They have two first round picks and more needs than they can find in the later rounds. I make my final offer, pick 41 in the second round and pick 97 at the end of the third. He accepts, and we have an agreement for the second first round pick that I need.

Sunday, April 23rd, 2020 4:53PM

Step 2 – Adding a Veteran

Everyone and their mother knows I need a starting left tackle. I’m big on value, though, and I don’t know that the value is there at 10. Everyone is making a big stink about how amazing all the tackles at the top of this class are, but they all have weaknesses, too. Quite a few of them have spent their entire lives on the right side, and I just signed Conklin for that. Ten is a very valuable asset. I don’t think picking a tackle there gives me the most value out of it.

That means finding a more raw prospect. To make that pill easier to swallow, I reach out to Jason Peters’ agent and finalize a one year deal. Peters might give me eight or ten games, and the rookie I bring in gets a great mentor, some pressure taken off, and a little extra time.

Sunday, April 23rd, 2020 8:57PM

Step 3- Moving Back

I have been doing my due diligence, making calls. I have a plan to draft a player I really like at 10. It’s not the plan I want to execute, but time is ticking, and the phone call I haven’t made, the one I have been waiting for, isn’t coming. I begin to consider backing out of the deal with Minnesota when I finally hear the man I’ve been waiting to talk to all night- Jason Licht.

We argue back and forth a bit, but we pretty quickly settle on a deal. As Roger Goodell announces that we are on the clock at 10, we turn it in to the league. Tampa Bay is now on the clock, and for the pick I get their pick at 14, move back into the beginning of the second at 45, and a fourth round pick next year. Everything is falling into place.

Sunday, April 23rd, 2020 10:06PM

Step 4- Shoring up a Desperate Need

We are on the clock at 14, and I have my pick ready. I field some offers, but everything has worked out just like I had planned. Roger Goodell announces the pick, and the newest member of the Cleveland Browns is Xavier McKinney from Alabama, the stud safety in the class. Sure, Isaiah Simmons would have been nice, but it would have cost too many assets to move that far up. I did bring in Andrew Sendejo and Karl Joseph, but that’s why they’re on one-year deals. I think Sheldrick Redwine has potential, but McKinney is the first safety I see as a long-term starter on the roster.

We do still need a developmental option at tackle, which is why the trade with the Vikings has been finalized. In 11 picks, we will get our guy, I’m sure of it.

Sunday, April 23rd, 2020 11:22PM

Step 5- Getting my Guy

Pick 25 has finally rolled around, and the left tackle at the top of my board is still available. As the youngest GM ever and in an organization stuck with the “analytics” label, I’m going to catch some flak. I stick to my guns, though, and turn in my pick for Ezra Cleveland from Boise State. I think he fits Stefanski’s scheme perfectly and I love his upside. Having Peters to help bring him along will work wonders, too. I am much happier to have spent the assets I did, especially after being able to replace the second rounder this year.

I did it. In my one day as general manager, I pulled off the perfect Browns draft plan. My work is done. Now I get to go back to my boring quarantine life. Berry, meanwhile, gets to try to do the one thing no Browns executive has been able to do in a long time. He gets to try to make it translate into wins on the field.

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