Executive Vice President, Football Operations and General Manager, Andrew Berry (4.25.26)
Opening Statement:
“All right, obviously the weekend is not complete, but we’ve got a little bit of a break or really a long break here before, you know, our last pick. And then the undrafted free agency process. We’re really pleased with at least where we sit. As we head into the sixth round, we expect by the end of the weekend we’ll be able to add 10 rookies that we’re really excited about, as well as two future fourth round picks in the ‘27 Draft. You know, at the onset of this, or I guess, you know, last week, I talked about our goal heading into the weekend is not just the first round, but it’s how do we maximize the resources that we head into the Draft with? And that’s whether you’re using those resources, some of them for veteran players, whether you’re using it to generate more by trading down, obviously, the players that you select and then the future Draft capital that you’re able to manufacture. So we’re really pleased with where we sit today with the combination of players and future assets that we’re able to create. You know, we’re looking forward to finishing strong and signing some undrafted free agents that can help our club this year. So with that, I’ll open up for questions.”
Drafting Taylen Green and just what’s your thinking behind him and what traits did you like about him?
“Yeah, it’s probably a little similar to what I mentioned yesterday, Mary Kay (Cabot), where, you know, at the quarterback position, it’s the most important IN sports. You know, we’ll make a bet we’ll acquire a player that we like if it’s the right cost. With Taylen specifically – very mature young man, really strong makeup, and he has rare physical gifts. He has size, he has elite speed, he has a big arm. He’s going to need some polish with this game, but he has the work ethic and he has the acumen to do so. So we’re looking forward to adding him to the roster and adding him to the mix in terms of competition.”
Can you just talk about potentially moving Taylen to wide receiver, tight end?
“We’re not. He’s playing quarterback. He’s playing quarterback.”
Andrew, when you talk about polishing, the turnovers were obviously the big thing about his game. That seemed to be a red flag when he was at Arkansas and Boise State. When you watch them on film, do you see a pathway to where he can work on that as he develops at this level?
“Yeah, I think context is important with that type of thing, Chris (Easterling). I think at Arkansas, they were actually one of the better offenses in college football and faced, I think it was like the toughest slate of college football opponents. The other side of the ball was not nearly as productive, to put it kindly. And so I think, as we’ve seen here, when there’s maybe a little bit of undue stress towards one side of the ball, it can put you in disadvantageous situations. And I think Taylen had a fair amount of that. That being said, there are absolutely areas of his game that he has to clean up. But we are looking forward to working with him and potentially developing him because he does have a really strong makeup, rare physical gifts, and then really the want to improve.”
When you pick a quarterback like this with this much just raw skill. Even if he’s not ready to start or play for you, can you find a way to use that guy as a weapon when he’s not your quarterback?
“Yeah, that’s a good question, and I think so. The short answer is yes. Obviously, his gift as a ball carrier and a runner is pretty unique, but it really has to go with the offensive vision. And I think that’s something that over the course of the spring and into training camp, as our offensive staff works with this group of players, you know, we’ll define that identity and figure out how much of that we could potentially incorporate.”
What does it mean for the quarterbacks in the room?
“Yeah, it doesn’t mean anything. We’re going to continue to work with all those guys, and we like having competition.”
Not to compare Taylen to Lamar Jackson, but obviously knowing that Todd (Monken) has worked with like a really dynamic quarterback, how much that maybe gave you a little more comfort in making the pick, even though you acknowledge he’s going to need some polish?
“Honestly, Daniel (Oyefusi), it had very little to do with that. Todd’s worked with, obviously he’s worked with Lamar, but Lamar was pretty unique relative to the quarterbacks that he had worked with previously. I don’t know that Lamar and Stetson Bennett could be more polar opposite. That’s one of Todd’s gifts, the ability to maximize skill sets, period and particularly at that spot. You know, for us, it was as we looked at the prospects who were available to us – their relative strengths and weaknesses – we felt like Taylen was the right pick at the top of six and, look we’re excited to work with them.”
In past years, you guys have typically had four quarterbacks at least in the offseason and throughout training camp. What’s the benefit for that many arms in the room for you guys?
“Yeah, well, part of it, you need it to get through. I mean, look, we lived it firsthand last year, right? You needed to get through camp. We do believe in keeping three on the active roster and ideally a fourth on the practice squad. But it’s an important position. There is attrition throughout the year. And I think the other element is it’s never a problem to have too many good players. It just isn’t. Like, even as I think through last year with that position, we had two young guys, two vets who either got hurt or at one point were no longer the starter because of performance. And we were able to turn those players into resources that could help the team this upcoming off season. Sometimes it’s not a linear path in terms of how they positively impact the roster of the organization. It may not always be on field, but we’re going to try and make as many calculated bets as we can and take steps from there.”
Going back to Taylen and the offense he played at Arkansas. Bobby Petrino also, kind of Daniel with Lamar (Jackson). I mean, what does that offense do specifically to kind of help prepare a quarterback. Is there things that transfer from that?
“I mean, I think there are a lot of commonalities in college and pro offenses. Maybe I should back up. There’s only one Lamar Jackson so I understand the thought or comparison there, but there’s one Lamar Jackson. I think how Arkansas deployed Taylen (Green) in the run game, the QB driven run game, that’s probably like the bigger component, the bigger similarity. And when you have someone with his athletic gifts, that’s something that you certainly want to utilize within the offensive system.”
I guess it was more about how Petrino prepares quarterbacks more so than a direct comparison to Lamar.
“Yeah, I mean his track record speaks for itself. That being said, all these quarterbacks who come into the NFL this weekend they have a lot to learn and fortunately we have one of the best teachers with Todd. And we know he’s in good hands.”
How do you get past just the 37 turnovers in two seasons?
“Yeah, so I think that goes with context, right? Part of it is, you know, is it a situation where they’re down, they’re in heavy, drop back their passive scores and then part of it is like, yeah, guys do need to take steps and improve, Tony. But the other side of the coin is, you do have players who are able to generate enough explosive plays where not a terminal, but like, maybe a higher turnover rate is at least more doable for the team. And that’s what Arkansas experienced. You know, probably a perfect example would be may be Josh Allen earlier in his career, you know, where he generated so many explosive plays that you could live with some of the errors. Now once he became an MVP, he was able to minimize those with time on tasks and experience. But at this point in the draft, there are no perfect prospects. But, Taylen has a lot of positives that make us want to work with him.”
If Brailsford could win the center job, would that be ideal for you and you can move Elgton Jenkins to right guard?
“I would say the thing that would be ideal is just to have the best five out there. I don’t really care who it is, as long as we have quality production at all five spots.”
If that would happen, the second part would be having two rookies starting. Would that be a little bit dicey?
“I don’t think so. I mean, the Patriots had that and went to the Super Bowl this year.”
What do you like about Joe Royer?
“Joe has size, really good hands. He is a player that can produce both in the Y, which is kind of your traditional inline role, and the F role, which is a little bit more of a receiving role. So to have that flexibility in the room is helpful and important. So he was the guy that we liked, we felt was there for the value and we’re happy to add him to the team.”
Did you ever think you were going to make all four of those picks that were so close together in the fifth round?
“We were ready to. I was hoping that we wouldn’t have to, just because I thought that…look, there were players that we liked there, but I thought a combination of some of the things that we did were going to be more impactful for the team.”
When you look at the versatility so many of these guys that you guys have drafted have, how much do you anticipate that may be playing into camp as they get here, or exploring other ways that they might be used outside of their primary role?
“Yeah, it’s actually a little bit of a delicate balance. Todd talks about it all the time and he’s used some other young players that he’s coached where the excitement can be a while. Like when we select this guy, he can do this, he can do that, he can do this. And you don’t want to spread them too thin through early. So we’ll probably start them off in kind of one spot and let them get their C leg, so to speak, before branching out. But it’s certainly something that we’re excited about as we move forward.”
Seeing combine results from a guy that size, in terms of tail and since real Calvin Johnson is comparable. Was it that point in the draft, just the athleticism just outweighs maybe a more polished passer, like a Nussmeier in that situation?
“Yeah, I wouldn’t necessarily compare him to the other prospects other than say that we felt like Taylen’s makeup, his physicality, we just think there’s a lot to work with”.
I know obviously you guys don’t have an answer from Joel in terms of his future, but given the amount of resources dedicated to the offensive line that you guys have obviously done, is there anything to read into there?
“I wouldn’t say so. I think when we’ve been at our best, when we had the best unit in the league, we were deep. It wasn’t just quality, but it was depth as well. And so there are a couple positions that once you get past this time of the year, you just can’t acquire until really the next offseason. And then the offensive line position group, that’s one of those spots. So when we can add players, the bigger guys that are hard to find, you know, we’ll do that.”
When you were talking about Parker (Brailsford), when you drafted him, I think you said something like, ‘he’s exactly what you’re looking for’. What is it about him? And is the weight any concern for you at all?
“Hop’s even probably best at saying this, like, if you didn’t know, you wouldn’t be able to tell with his play. But really the bigger thing is, and you could see it when we had J.C. (Tretter) here, when we had Nick Harris when he was healthy, and then in Baltimore when they had, you know, Tyler Linderbaum, the centers that can pull and work at the second level and get to the perimeter because of their athleticism and speed, they give you a lot of optionality in the run game. And that’s something that Parker does very well. So we’re excited about that part of his profile.”
You talk about maybe the makeup of your quarterback room right now. Obviously, two really young guys, three now really young guys, two that have some experience, and then (QB) Deshaun (Watson) just overall, just the makeup, the energy of the room.
“Yeah, I mean, I think the three guys that we’ve had here have worked really hard and they’ve got along really well. We’ve been really pleased with the early part of the offseason program, and we think Taylen (Green) will really fit in nicely just because of how he’s wired, his work ethic. So we’re looking forward to seeing that group progress over the course of the spring and summer.”
Do you feel like Deshaun, I know he was a really good mentor to the younger guys last year. Do you think he’ll be good for someone like Taylen with his Pro bowl background and all of that?
“Deshaun’s great with his teammates, and I’d imagine that would continue to be the case. So that group, they work together really well and they get along really well.”
At this stage of the draft, how much does a guy, sort of in relation to Justin Jefferson, how much does a guy having that special team’s quality and that as a characteristic in their game, maybe like, boost them on your board or sort of fit into the picture, when you’re thinking about value at this stage.
“It’s definitely a factor. It’s not a one size fits all approach. I think with Justin (Jefferson), he’s a DNA match for this defense because, we’ll prioritize speed, range, athleticism, and sacrifice a little bit of size because of how we play, but then also, his ability in the kicking game is certainly a bonus because it gives a relatively high floor for his year one role.”
You told us right into the season that the offseason is going to be mostly about the offense and the resources. I’m just wondering when you were interviewing Todd and talking to Todd before he got the job, how much of that was a discussion topic on how you’re going to fix it and exactly how he thought you might be able to fix it?
“Yeah, we were transparent with all the candidates we talked to about that part of it. We were honest with where we were in our roster’s life cycle and said, ‘hey, look here’s how we’ve positioned ourselves going into this year and here’s how we generally anticipate deploying the assets.’ So that’s something that we’re very open at, I think, to accept a job this big as a head coach in the NFL. When you’re walking to a team with transition, like, you have to have visibility in terms of what that’ll look like moving forward.”
Andrew, you had some, not draft related, but you had a group of players in for tryouts during the involuntary minicamp. Are you planning on keeping some around, continuing those tryouts, signing any of them?
“We have not signed any today. That’s probably ‘TBD’. I would not anticipate that we’re signing any veterans in the short term, but it’s something that we could revisit as we get through draft week and as we get through the undrafted free agent signing process.”
Andrew, does Taylen Green then complete the quarterback room?
“Yes. You know what, let me back up. I have learned the hard way not to say anything definitively. The current plan is that we would roll with those four. I can’t predict if something else comes up. So, yes, that would be the intention.”
He has started so many games and college has been around for a long time and he’s played a lot of football. How did that maybe sort of factor into your decision?
“You know, it’s part of the equation, Mary Kay (Cabot). But I wouldn’t say that it was by any means, like the heaviest weight or the driving force behind the decision. But yeah, it does play a role in.”
Feel like you construct, like through the draft, through the offseason, construct this offensive line to make it conducive to a (LG) Joel (Bitonio) return if he decides that he wants to come back.
“I’ll put it this way, we’ll never run away from good players.”
Of all your picks, which is the most surprising to you that you got?
“That’s a great question, Jeff (Schudel). Honestly, it’s. It’s Eman (Emmanuel McNeil-Warren). Like, it’s Emmanuel. That’s the one that I wouldn’t have anticipated that he would have been available where we selected him.”
So when you entered this weekend, did you think you were going to take Taylen?
“I would say this, I don’t know that you can predict day three of the draft. We knew that quarterback could have been one of the positions as we thought through how day three could play out, that we could make a selection. And he was certainly in the pool of quarterbacks that could come into consideration depending on how the board fell. But you can’t be so strict with your planning because you just don’t control how the names come off the board.”
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