Executive Vice President, Football Operations and General Manager, Andrew Berry (4.23.26)
Opening Statement:
“So, listen, we’re very excited in terms of how night one concluded for us to get, you know, two of what I would call our short list players to pick up another top 100 pick as well as another pick in the top 150. You know, we were very pleased with just really all the activity this evening. We’re really excited about Spencer, his potential at left tackle. He’s super athletic, very versatile, elite, you know, makeup. And then KC he’s dynamic. He’s, you know, an outstanding separator, really good with the ball in his hands, honestly, probably the best punt returner in this class and you know, those two guys will really help our offense moving forward.”
Can’t hear question
“It was, and you know, we were joking. It’s like, okay, well, the board probably fell better than it did in our simulations in the week leading up to it, which is always nice, but we’re really excited about the two players that we got, and we’re really excited that, you know, we were able to pick up the extra draft resources while, you know, taking a player that we really coveted at nine.”
Andrew, did you get a lot of calls for six and KC was the best one or, you know, how’d that kind of go when you were on the clock?
“We did get several calls for six. You know, we thought through –I should say this, we got several calls for six and nine. The combination of six and nine at six. Kansas City made the most sense because it was a big enough move where we could pick up resources, but also small enough with what had happened on the board that, you know, we could get, you know, one of our short list of targets of which Spencer was at the top. And then at 9, we did get a little bit of action there as well, but nothing that necessarily compelled us to move off at the pick.”
I know you kind of believe the tackle is tackle, but in Spencer’s case, does it help that you’ve seen him play on the left side?
“Yeah, it certainly helps, but really, you’re looking more for traits in that regard, just because if you think about it, we move guys from the left side to the right side all the time, and it never gets talked about. And that distinction, it’s just, you know, you need two of them to pass protect, and one you maybe help a little. The other you help a little bit more. But Spencer, he’s super athletic. He’s played on both sides. He’s really smart. We’re excited to have him.”
Andrew, KC had some drops. Are you concerned about that?
“Yeah. Every receiver, besides maybe Larry Fitzgerald, has a couple drops. KC, he’s been a dynamic producer at NC State, Texas A&M, he’s electric with the ball in his hands, and we’re looking forward to having him.”
Andrew, this offseason, Spencer, the versatility that he has, was that really intentional for you this offseason with maybe what has happened with the offensive line the last couple of years? It just feels like versatility was like, atop your wish list for every player that you brought in that position.
“I’d say if you’re on the O-line, you typically need to be able to play two spots. I’d say probably more so than versatility was resiliency within the O-line in terms of how you build that position group. Versatility is one way to do it, strength in numbers is another way to do it. I think we’ll be in a position where we have both. With Spencer in particular, we’re looking to park him at left tackle and let him play. So while it’s nice that he’s played several spots, that’s not our vision for him.”
KC, I know he played inside and out, and. And do you envision him being able to play both roles for you?
“Yeah, we do.”
Read the letter that he wrote. Just how impressive is it that he would get where he has, given all he’s grown up with, including the stutters?
“Yeah, that’s one thing that we talked about. I told him, you know, when he was on his 30 visit, I think it’s incredible what he’s. What he’s overcome and gone through in his life. His agent sent the letter, I’m sure, to every gm, but I actually went and I called him after the letter. I was like, hey, look, I thought that was really awesome, and that was separate from obviously liking him as a prospect. But I’ll share one story, when KC visited, I was like, hey, I hope you’re a Brown, but if you’re not, I sure hope you’re in the NFC because I don’t want to face you. Then I told his agent afterwards, look, everything that kid’s about, everything that he’s overcome, if he’s not here, he just needs to know he’s got a fan. I really love the person and he’s obviously a dynamic football player.”
Was his punt return ability just a bonus or did it put him over the top among other receivers left?
“I’d say it was a bonus. You know, more than anything, Tony, because it’s certainly great if you can get the ball and playmaker’s hand in a variety of ways. It allows you to be more explosive as a team, allows you to score more points, but also being realistic that, you know, if you look at former, let’s say high pick receivers, whether it’s DeSean Jackson back in the day, Dez Bryant early in his career, usually at some point they probably like play their way off of that. So it’s not necessarily bankable for their entire career. But with KC, it certainly was an added bonus.
Andrew, Spencer Fano, number one among your targets, but did you give much thought to Jordyn Tyson and was it a little difficult at that moment to trade away from him at all or did you know that you were targeting Spencer?
“You know, we liked a number of those guys up there, including Jordyn, you know, but Spencer was our top target at that point.”
A lot was made about Spencer’s arm length. I was curious when you watched the film how much that was like a talking point. What are the traits that you’ve been thinking will allow that to not be an issue in the NFL?
“Yeah, I know it gets talked about a lot. And I remember, you know, the, you know, the legendary, you know, O-line coach Dante Scarnecchia with New England used to say it’s just, it’s way overrated. I think most times tackles get beat for a lack of feet or athleticism or anchor or awareness, you know, as opposed to length. The biggest thing is like, ‘Hey, how can the guys, you know, short the corner?’ And with elite athletes like Spencer, they do it with their movement skills. Maybe if you have a guy that just is not as quick or not as agile, then length is a little bit more important. But the difference in his success isn’t going to be this. In terms of arm length, he has a number of incredible both physical and mental characteristics that we think will lead to a successful transition.”
How do you measure when you have a dynamic athlete like KC, but guys drop balls, how do you kind of measure that?
“Yeah, it’s really relative to the population. Like I know that gets talked about, but he has natural dexterity. You know, it’s nothing extreme or nothing out of, I guess it’s not an outlier, you know, relative to other receivers in the draft class. I know that’s been the primary talking point, but we’re comfortable with KC’s hands.”
He drove to Cleveland from Indy. Was he in fact your first 30 visit?
“Great question, Tony. I don’t know if he was our first. He was among our first, but we had a couple of guys in right after the combine. He was one of them. I don’t, I don’t think he was the very first, but he was among our first, yes.”
Do you envision using all of the remaining draft picks that you have now that you picked up the extra two?
“Look, I would hope to draft in volume this year, but it really just depends on how the board falls. So I’m also like, depending on how good of a review you guys write us, I’m going to use that seventh rounder. If you guys write something, okay.”
Did Todd and you to an extent see some Zay Flowers and how Todd used him?
“You know, I do think there are some similarities in terms of movement skills, the twitch. Honestly, some of the questions regarding the hands coming out, you know, I think the one thing that maybe gets a little bit lost is like KC is a much bigger, you know, player than Zay, but I think there is some overlap in the characteristics. You know, I think, you know, look, if we get a player who’s comparable to Zay Flowers, you know, when we’re sitting here from three years, we’ll be elated.”
To go back to Spencer. I mean, early on, I guess how early on in this process had you guys really zeroed in on him as the top tackle in?
“You know, we used the whole process, Ashley. You know, we did feel like Spencer was unique in terms of everything that comprised his on field performance, his physical skills and his makeup. But, we do like to use the whole shot clock.”
The terms of the trade with KC. Was it an option to get a 20, 27 pick?
“No.”
You wanted an extra third round pick?
“There was no option or discussion of future picks.”
I know it only being two picks that you didn’t know, but what’s that nervous level like saying, okay, you want Spencer, but there’s a chance. I mean, were you worried at all that seven and eight could take him?
“You know, that’s part of the risk. You know, when we were on the clock at 6, you know, what I told the room is, hey, there are really three guys left that, you know, we’d be elated with, you know, if we had to sit and pick. Moving back three spots and having an idea of where Kansas City was going. We knew we were going to get one of those three guys. We also felt the teams behind us, you know, Washington they extended Tunsil, they drafted Josh Connerly in the first round last year. New Orleans drafted Kelvin Banks, you know, at nine last year and then Fuaga the year before that. So we felt pretty comfortable that a tackle wasn’t going to go unless a team traded into it. But if one did, you know, we felt good with the group of players that were in front of us.”
Todd’s reaction upstairs, you know, the first round, was he able to contain his excitement?
“He was pretty pumped up. He was pretty pumped up. So we all were – look, you don’t always have the board fall way that you predict. And look, the idea is like these guys, they haven’t hit the grass, they still have to perform at our level. But it’s a start that we are excited about because of the players and the people.”
(OT) Spencer (Fano) mentioned Joe Thomas and just how much he looks up to and everything. How much are you guys going to try to facilitate getting those two together? I know Joe’s got his own schedule and everything, but how much do you try to get those two together?
“Yeah Joe’s obviously one of our distinguished alumnus and he’s always involved in our O linemen. Also, there’s a connection with Joe and Spencer’s representation. But, I think you all know we love having Joe around here and everything like that. I’m sure he will have words of wisdom for Spencer and that’s definitely a connection we will look to make.”
You obviously talked so much leading up to the drafts just about not being, you know, crippled by needs versus best player available. Sort of that strategy when push came to shove, especially when you were on the clock at 6. Like, how were those, what were those conversations like in sort of deciding what was there and what your needs were? Because as it turned out, you obviously did a end up addressing some of your bigger needs tonight.
“There really wasn’t a ton of conversation. All those conversations happened beforehand. Like at this point, it’s like I would almost make the quote of like calling plays. You talk through all those different scenarios ahead of time. And this one was straightforward because we viewed (OT) Spencer (Fano) as one of the top prospects in the draft. So it made it pretty easy. We didn’t really feel like there was any type of trade off in that regard.”
Can you just reflect, Andrew, on how you’ve rebuilt the offensive line here in these last two months?
“Yeah, I think we are very excited about the players that we’ve brought in as well as the development that’s occurring with existing players. You know, obviously the vets that we acquired, whether it’s via trade or free agency or with a cap cut, we felt like we’ve brought quality production as well as experience to that group. And then obviously with night one adding Spencer, we think that’s a big foundational piece to that position group. We’ll see where we go from here. Look, we still have nine more picks, we may not be done with the O-line at that point. And like I said, we’re excited about some of our younger guys that are going to get greater opportunities, but it’s a good start.”
You’ve talked about the traits with Spencer, but I know to be a great O line, there’s some personality aspects. Some nasty that the guy has to have. Can you sort of speak to that side of Spencer and what you guys learned about him?
“Yeah, I think one of the cool things about Spencer is you look at how, I guess scheme transcendent he’s been. Because what they did in ‘24 versus ‘25 was honestly was a lot different in terms of how they structured the run game, how they did pass pro and you can see him move, you can see him maul. I think he’s very gifted and very versatile in that regard. And don’t be fooled by his kindness when you meet him. Have you guys done your zoom with him already? Yeah, don’t be fooled by his kindness. He’s nasty on the field.”
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