Executive Vice President, Football Operations & General Manager, Andrew Berry (4.17.25)

Opening statement:

“Okay, so next week’s pretty exciting for our team. We get our players back in the building. Obviously Draft weekend approaching, where at least as we sit here today, can add 10 rookie players to the roster or drafted rookie players to the roster. So, we’re pretty pumped as we go into next week. As I always do at this time, I wanted to really thank our college scouts who make a number of sacrifices over the calendar year, spend a ton of time away from their family, living out of hotels – really beating the bushes for prospects, getting to know them as players and people. And it’s a bit of a thankless job, right? They’re behind the scenes. They don’t get a ton of credit, which is a big reason why on Draft weekend, we like to bring them out here to talk to you about the guys that we’ve picked so you can hear from them, understand why we value their opinion so highly, and they get a little bit of credit, a little bit of notoriety for the work that they’ve been doing. I’d also like to thank Glenn Cook, Max Paulus, Megan Rock for their management of the process. Of course, Catharine Hickman and Andrew Healy for their work in all of our big decisions. Joy Tapajcik and Kathleen Wood for their work in terms of our security and legal and player backgrounds. All those individuals contribute above and beyond. So, we’re excited. We’re ready to go. And with that, I’ll open up for questions.”

 

When we spoke to you at the league meetings about draft strategies, you said after the pro days kind of come together you formulate draft strategy. With all signs pointing to the (Tennessee) Titans taking Cam Ward, do you have that draft strategy in plan if that was to happen?

“So, a big part of this week and then going into next week is what we call scenario planning and strategy planning. So, we’re really right in the thick of it, Daniel (Oyefusi), and that’s not to say that there hasn’t been any thought of it at this point. That would be disingenuous. But we’ll use the whole shot clock, so to speak. We don’t have to start making decisions until really Thursday night and so we’ll use all the time afforded to us and make sure that we have a thorough plan depending on what happens at number one.”

 

Travis Hunter, I guess he’s talking about wanting to play basically all the time. And how do you see him? What about that? Is it practical in the NFL? 

“So, I think one of the things that is like, you can’t probably fully appreciate until you actually see Travis play live is just his elite conditioning. Like going out and seeing him play at Colorado, he really never comes off the field. And it’s unbelievable because, there are more plays in a college game than there is a pro game. And it’s like the guy, he barely pants, like that kind of thing. So, it’s quite incredible. You know, that being said, what he would attempt to do has not been really done in our league, but we wouldn’t necessarily put a cap or a governor in terms of, like, what he could do. You know, we would want to be smart in terms of how we started him out. I think I’ve mentioned before, we would see his first home as receiver and his second home on the defensive side of the ball.”

 

Is it rare what he brings?

“Yeah, I think one of the big things – he has a number of rare qualities, but probably the rarest is his ability with the ball – his ball skills. And we would want to put him in a position that maximizes that ability.”

 

First of all, would you be concerned about the pounding, like the physical pounding? Not the aerobic part, but, you know, the taking the hits on both sides of ball if he played on both sides for you. 

“Yeah, I think any time a player across positions, plays more snaps, there certainly is more of that risk. That being said, playing on the perimeter positions, there’s maybe a little bit less contact than there would be as you get closer to the ball. But it’s something that… look, 32 teams would have to figure that out as they think through his profile. And, you know, there would be some probably, learning on the fly if he were here.”

 

Does he have to play on both sides to be worth that number two pick? Because that’s kind of how he’s viewed, is a guy that can do both versus just one side or the other. 

“No, I don’t see it that way. I think it’s – and I’m going to use a cross board now. It’s a little bit like (Shohei) Ohtani, right? When he’s playing one side, he’s an outstanding player, if he’s a pitcher. If he’s a hitter, he’s an outstanding player. You obviously get a unicorn if you use them both ways.”

 

Would you use him both ways?

“Yeah, I guess without getting in too much into the specific planning because, you know, he’s not here. We haven’t made the decision but, that’s something that’s also unique and it’s something that, like I said, every team across the league would have to figure out.”

 

The snaps you have in the college game, especially compared to the number of snaps at the NFL level, is that something that could benefit him? The lesser number of snaps maybe in an average NFL game? 

“I think it’s possible, but I think to speak with any level of certainty is tough because it is, it would be new territory for whatever team acquired him.”

 

When developing your strategy, do you have specific people in your office assigned to specific teams to try to gauge what they’re up to and what they might offer in a trade to jump ahead at a certain point?

“That’s a good question, Tony (Grossi). So, obviously we have a pro scouting staff that – I’d say probably the best way to describe it is no different than we have area scouts who we say you have to be experts in your area, know your schools. With our pro group, they have to know their teams inside and out. So, in terms of, call it the research aspect – in terms of how they think about the roster, tendencies with the coaching staff or the GM or whatever, that would largely reside with our pro scouting staff as well as our research and strategy group. In terms of discussions or inquiries, things like that would be more with our executive group.”

 

Are they assigned by division?

“Let’s say loosely. It doesn’t maybe quite work out that cleanly, but loosely speaking, that’s probably a good way to think about it.”

 

How much of the way you view Travis positionally is positional value versus what you think he is better at? 

“Just what we think he’s better at. He’s great at both. Like I want to be clear, he’s great at both because I think that got a little bit unfair traction last time, I talked about this.”

 

In the wake of you guys going out to Colorado, it seems like within the next day, everyone in the whole country was – ‘Browns are taking Travis Hunter, off the Shedeur (Sanders) trail.’

“It’s funny how that works.”

 

And maybe off the Abdul Carter scent as well. So, is that an accurate perception of where you guys are right now? Are you off Shedeur, off Abdul, and focused in on Travis? 

“Yeah, it’s like what I mentioned with Daniel (Oyefusi). We’re still working through everything. You know, we have not made a hard decision in terms of how we’re going to utilize the number two pick. There are a number of guys that we like. Our travels they were the logical touch points that you would make for all prospects who are worthy of being consideration that high in the draft. That just happened to be the order. I think maybe a lot of times, Mary Kay (Cabot), it just becomes like the last place that you stopped. But we’re still working through everything.”

 

So, you could still take Shedeur?

“All options are on the board.”

 

At the combine, I know as a whole, you talked about this quarterback class and feeling like there are guys there who can be really good NFL players. I guess now that you’re through the combine, you’re through these pro days. Like, do you still feel like there are multiple guys with starting potential in this league that could be helpful to this team? 

“I do, Ashley (Bastock). We were actually talking about this yesterday in one of our strategy sessions. I think that a lot of the quarterback position is the environment that you put the individual in. Whether that’s the teammates, schematically what you ask them to do, and honestly what you ask them to do early in their career. And I think you’re starting to see it more and more across the league that quarterbacks can produce in a number of different ways. You know, the way that Josh Allen produces is a lot different than the way that Brock Purdy produces. You know, the system that Tua (Tagovailoa) runs is a lot different than the system that Lamar Jackson runs. And I think it’s of great importance for any organization bringing in a quarterback to understanding what that individual does well and how you both build an offense and design a scheme to accentuate that individual strength. I think as long as they have a level of baseline talent, you can have a productive player at the position as long as you’re thoughtful in terms of building the environment around them.”

 

Every team has its own first round pick right now, that’s rare. Does it just happen that way or do you think teams just don’t want to give them up? 

“I think it just happened that way, yeah.”

 

Is identifying the quarterback you want and when to take them the biggest challenge of your draft? 

“I don’t know that I would necessarily put it that way, Tony (Grossi). Obviously, quarterback’s the most important position. I think the biggest thing that we’re thinking about going into this draft is really just adding good players and good prospects, you know, not overthinking that way. Like, you can’t necessarily dictate the draft. Although certainly you have more influence when you’re picking as high as we are this year, but we’re really just looking to add good players.”

 

In terms of strategy, how much does your plans and what you’ve already done in free agency shape what you’re doing in the draft and then vice versa? How much will the draft then go into your plans for free agency? 

“There is some interplay. I wouldn’t say that it’s one that drives the other, but it could influence the level of investment that you would make at a certain position once you get to April. But that being said, depending on how the Draft falls, our goal and our thought process is making sure that we can add as many players that we think can be very high-quality long-term contributors. And sometimes that may not be like an apparent need or maybe like an obvious pick at the spot, but just the player was too good to pass up.”

 

This quarterback class it’s maybe not as strong as your typical quarterback classes. I’m not asking if you feel that way, but does bringing back Joe Flacco give you more latitude maybe to look at a guy through more of a long-term lens, like a developmental lens? You can draft someone in the middle rounds that you can develop and just kind of have Joe keep the seat warm as opposed to having the urgency of finding that guy in this draft and getting him on the field as quickly as possible? 

“No, I wouldn’t say that that’s the case at all, Daryl (Ruiter). Like, we wouldn’t consider signing Joe as having any real impact in terms of how we would view taking a quarterback in the draft. We firmly believe that it’s not about picking a player who’s ready to contribute now. It’s about trying to find the player that you think is going to be the best. If you have access to that player and you know, look, I think you can think about Patrick Mahomes that his whole first year. Josh Allen, it really took to year three for him to become Josh Allen. You know, Lamar (Jackson) probably hit the ground running pretty quickly. You know, Jalen Hurts, like there were doubts about him until he probably hit year three. So, quarterbacks mature and grow at their own pace and our thought isn’t in terms of immediacy but making the best long-term bet.”

 

What did you make of Travis Hunter’s comments earlier this week about not playing football? If he can’t play both sides of the ball, how does that affect your strategy? 

“It really doesn’t, yeah.”

 

Calculating the value of moving up, let’s just say from 33 into the first round, are you making those calculations right now so that on the night of the draft you’ll know how far you want to go if you want?

“So that’s something that we actually have I guess call it like living, breathing kind of market value so to speak. So it’s not something that we have to like call it like re-tabulate necessarily every year, Tony (Grossi). We generally know like the pricing if you want to move up or what you would receive if you move back. But yeah, certainly that comes into play with any of those decisions as you get on the clock.”

 

When it comes to the quarterback position. There’s always so much said about this year’s class versus next year’s class and sort of comparing how teams are already sort of projecting ahead. I guess I’m just curious from your guys perspective, it could be this year, but it could be future years too. How do you guys, how much evaluation can actually happen and go on in terms of like what’s to come in future years at that position to allow you guys to make the best decision on what you want to do? Like how much are you actually weighing it? 

“So, we do, particularly with quarterback, we do look at those classes two years at a time as opposed to one year at a time. So, it is something that we think about but there’s also a lot that changes from year to year. So, it’s not like, that can necessarily be set in stone. Players take a step forward in their growth, some take a step back and some come out of nowhere. So, you can’t necessarily use that as a hard and fast rule. But it is something that we like to have, we like to think about in the background.”

 

Do you expect JOK (Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah) to be ready in 2025?

“Yeah. So again, you know, JOK’s timeline, I think I mentioned the last time, it is a bit nebulous. He is progressing, but again, right now I don’t have necessarily like a definitive date for you, Jeff (Schudel).”

You brought in Joe (Flacco) now and you have (Kenny) Pickett. The thought process between putting those two together as your veteran guys and then how are you going to run who starts or whatever?

“Yeah, so I’ll answer your second question first, Terry (Pluto). You know, it’s about breeding competition and whatever that room looks like as we go into the spring and then probably most importantly, training camp, all those individuals will have a chance to compete to be the starter. In terms of Joe versus Kenny, you know, Joe, I kind of mentioned earlier, he can fit a number of different spots in the room. We obviously know him well. He’s an excellent play action passer. You know, he functions kind of in our system with Kenny, younger guy, mobile, very smart, protects the ball. I think there’s more physical ability in him. A guy we did a lot of work on in that draft process and obviously saw him twice a year when he was in Pittsburgh. And so we think there’s more to get out of him there.”

 

Abdul Carter has not run, worked out or done much since the season ended. What is your understanding of his availability for an off-season program?

“Yeah, I’d say more generally, Tony (Grossi), our medical staff is not necessarily concerned about any health risks with him.”

 

Do you feel like you need to come out of this draft with your long-term answer? Is that something that if you guys don’t find that guy, you’d be willing to address later? 

“Yeah, Dan (Labbe), I think the biggest thing for us is we want to have long term players across the roster. You know, we’re not going to necessarily force something if we don’t think the value’s right or anything along those lines. But we want to be thoughtful and disciplined in our decision making.”

 

Between picks, players you like go off the board. But at quarterback, does it feel more dangerous if the longer you wait just because there’s fewer of them? So, whether it’s two to 33 or 33 to 67, that if you don’t take one, then, you know, the guys you like may be gone?

“Not really, Scott (Petrak). I think it certainly depends on the player, right? And it depends on where you’re picking, but we don’t necessarily – we won’t pick based on panic. I guess maybe that’s the way of characterizing it.”

 

In addition to Shedeur, on some of the other quarterbacks such as Jalen (Milroe) Jaxson (Dart), Tyler (Sough), do you envision that one of those guys would have just as good a chance to come in here and start as Shedeur would?

“I think that’s hard to say, Mary Kay (Cabot). You know, I think that just the reality is every situation is different. Every player acclimates differently. Like I think back to what was this? 2 – I want to say 2023. And you look at, you know, Bryce (Young) and C.J. (Stroud). Bryce had played a lot of football; he played SEC at Alabama. It took him a little bit of time to get his sea legs in Carolina. Whereas with C.J. you know, there were probably more questions about him going through the process and he hit the ground running. So, I just think there are plenty of those examples where you really just don’t know how they’ll transition and why it’s important to have patience at the position.”

 

Are there any more privates with anybody between now and draft day?

“No, we will not.”

 

I don’t think you’ve drafted a player over the age of 25. So why is Tyler Shough of interest to you?

“So, I think one, it’s probably rare to have players come into the draft that are 25 or older. So, I think that’s one, it’s probably a little bit of like a selection bias. And two, age is certainly a part of the equation but it’s not like some type of end all. You know, it just adds context to the performance, and I wouldn’t — it’s a factor but I wouldn’t say it’s like there’s any hard and fast rule.”

 

What was the process with bringing (Joe) Flacco back?

“Yeah, so it’s what I mentioned with Daryl (Ruiter) earlier. We know Joe, he fits in the system. We think he’s a quarterback that can fit in any of the spots of the QB room. You know, whether he’s a short-term starter, whether he’s in the backup quarterback role, you know, he’s excellent and he certainly fit our our resource allocation from a roster planning standpoint.”

 

How much would having Tommy (Rees) in the building help with that evaluation of Jalen Milroe?

“It helps a lot. Like I mean to having been at Alabama with him for a full year, calling plays for him, knowing his strengths and weaknesses. It helps a lot.”

 

How much pressure is there on you to find guys that considering where the roster is, cap and all that, to find some guys in those picks that can come in and help you on day one?

“We don’t really look at it that way, Daryl. It’s really honestly the feeling is excitement. It’s really just that. I mentioned this before, like probably similar to the quarterback response, it’s not about focusing on, ‘Okay, well who can hit the ground running the fastest’. It’s focused on who can be the best and maturity and that’s how we’ll approach it.”

 

Usually, players available to you at number two are so called transformational players there. Do you envision just staying right there and taking a Travis (Hunter) or someone? 

“I’d say this, Mary Kay (Cabot). We will make the decision that we think maximizes the impact on the team. You know, whether that’s selecting a player, whether that’s using the resource otherwise. Whether it’s moving up, moving down, trading it for a veteran. Like we’re going to use it to maximize it.”

 

How much value you place on the fifth-year option where your 33rd pick would be worth giving up some kind of asset to move back to the first round?

“Honestly, not a ton.”

 

You talked about taking players where they’re valued and not like overreaching. I guess to go back to Scott’s point with quarterback, is it just different because of the overall positional value? Is it different for every position? Like are they on their own kind of scale in terms of taking someone where they’re valued? 

“I don’t think so, Ashley (Bastock). I think that a certain level of performance. Like I’ve always said that all positions aren’t created equal and so maybe a certain level of performance at one position is going to have a higher impact on wins on your team than maybe a higher level of performance at a less impactful position. So that kind of gets baked in. It’s not just this pure, ‘okay, like call it 1 through 250 ranking of like who’s the best player type thing.’ But in the NFL, you’re all given the same resources. Every team’s given the same resource, right? Same amount of dollars, same amount of picks, you know, that obviously ebbs and flows from year to year as you trade. And it’s important for us to be able to allocate those resources in a way that, in the most efficient way that allows us to get the best value. And so that’s how we think about it with the draft. That’s how we think about it with our contracts. Which is why we’re so focused on that part of it.”

 

General question, you know, you read at this time of year, these guys are rising, falling. How much is your draft board been altered since the combine?

“There have been some alterations based on whether it’s medical, mental, character fit. Some guys as we continue to do work with the film, but I wouldn’t say more generally late in the process. We don’t have these like wild swings, so to speak. It’s probably a little bit more tweaking than anything.”

 

The Colorado Showcase was a big deal for the organization, obviously pretty much everyone was there. Why did you guys feel was so important have everyone have everyone there?

“Look, anytime you’re picking this high, you’re hoping it’s going to be a player that’s going to be with your organization for 15 years or something along those lines. And you’re hoping to build a relationship with that player and his family for a long period of time. Like no different than Myles (Garrett), right? You know, Myles, he’ll retire as a Brown and go into the Hall of Fame and we’ve known him since he’s been 21 years old. Known Lawrence (Garrett) and Audrey (Garrett) since his college days. And that’s a really special relationship. And so, you’re only in these positions a handful of times and we feel like it’s important for us to establish those relationships early, not just when they just get into the building.”

 

Are you trading any of your current veterans on draft weekend? 

“I wouldn’t rule anything out, Mary Kay (Cabot). I wouldn’t say that’s necessarily like top of mind, but I think back a couple years ago with Troy Hill. We weren’t necessarily going into the weekend thinking that was going to be an active trade. Martin (Emerson) was available in a trade back. We were able to shed some salary and get an additional pick. So, it made sense for us at the time that wouldn’t rule again, being opportunistic out.”

 

When you talk about quarterbacks, they are almost like restaurants. Location has a lot to do with how well they do. So, when you look at Jaxson Dart or Jalen Milroe and how they play, cause I was just thinking their styles are different, but how does that translate to the pros? How does that work into your thinking? And talk a little bit about each of those guys. 

“Yeah, I mean, I think they’re both excellent players. I think, Jalen, he’s got rare physical talent. He may be the only quarterback when he gets in the NFL, who’s faster than Lamar (Jackson). Don’t tell Lamar I said that, please. He’s got rare physical gifts. He’s strong, he’s fast, he’s got a really strong arm. And any system that you build around him, you want to take advantage of the fact that he has things that no other players at the position have. You know, Jaxson, he’s very well rounded. He can run it, he can throw it, he’s accurate. He’s a good decision maker. I’d say he’s pretty scheme versatile, so to speak. So, look, I think, both those guys in the proper situation can be really good NFL players.”

Obviously at the owners meetings a couple weeks ago and that along those lines with Joe (Flacco) sort of coming back in the fold here, would you say that additions to that quarterback room at this point, you guys pretty much have an eyes more so on the draft than necessarily going out and looking in free agency to add, maybe another veteran player?

“I wouldn’t rule anything out. Like I’d say again, it’s about if an opportunity comes up that makes sense, we will take advantage of it.”

Do you expect Deshaun Watson to be available for you at any point in 2025? 

“It’s too early to say, Jeff (Schudel). I can say that Deshaun’s done a great job of rehabbing. He’s been in here every day. He’s progressing and that’s really our focus. But it’s just too early to say.”

 

How do you differentiate who you send the house to these different Pro Days. Obviously, there’s a lot of Pro Days you guys are heading to. Can’t be at all at once. But how do you kind of differentiate?

“So, I’d say for us, you know, quarterback’s most important position. So, we’ll be pretty liberal there. And then outside of that, you know, it’s if it’s non quarterbacks, it’s guys that might be a consideration this high in the draft.”

 

 

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