EVP of Football Operations and GM Andrew Berry Rd. 2 (4.24.20)
Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager Andrew Berry:
Opening statement:
“(S) Grant Delpit, excited to add him to the team. We really viewed him as a big versatile playmaker. He has been a really kind of an impact player for LSU over the past two seasons. Our appeal to Grant is the fact of his coverage abilities. He is a guy who can play the post. He can play you at the line of scrimmage. He can cover tight ends and walk over a slot and hold his own against receivers. He has been a consistent ball producer throughout his career at LSU. The other thing that stood out to us about Grant is just his toughness. He played through this season and really a lot of the year with a high-ankle sprain that would have put a lot of players out of commission for a longer period of time. The other thing is everyone we talked to at LSU talked about how bright Grant is and how quickly he can he can process and understand anything football related. We found that to be the case. When we met with him, he was certainly one of the more impressive interviews that we had at the combine from a football intelligence standpoint. We are excited to add him to the roster. We think he is a talented young safety that can be a productive member of our team.”
On if CB Greedy Williams called Delpit a ‘baller’ when asked about Delpit, given Berry’s comment of LB Mack Wilson’s feedback on T Jedrick Wills:
“We got a lot of positive feedback on Grant with everyone we spoke to.”
On reuniting Williams and Delpit and how their familiarity helps the team:
“I would say honestly we did not necessarily go into it with that in mind. We really evaluated independently. Certainly, hoping some of that familiarity could lead to potential synergy this fall, but at the end of the day, everybody has to earn their playing time and earn their jobs. We think Grant is a very talented player.”
On if the Browns believed Delpit would still be available at No. 44 when completing the trade with the Colts:
“We did.”
On if Delpit’s high ankle sprain last year affected his tackling, given it was a question for some evaluators this year:
Every player, every young player is going to have things that they are going to have to work on coming in you know. No player is going to be perfect. It is actually something that we talked about really in February at the combine. The one thing was Grant was accountable. He never made an excuse for it or anything along those lines.”
On if Delpit is more of a FS or SS and how he fits with the Ss the Browns added in free agency:
“I will answer your last question first. We think he fits well within that room. No jobs are given. Everybody is going to have to compete for their playing time in the fall. In terms of Grant’s skillset, one of the things is we really feel like he can fit in any safety role because of his versatility. I think it would be unfair to task him as just a free, just a strong or just what we would call a big nickel. The appeal is that he really does have the modern-day safety skillset from a coverage standpoint because of that versatility. That is something that we are really excited to have.”
On what separated Delpit from other remaining Ss:
“What set Grant apart is one, his track record. He is a very accomplished college football player, and then – I know I have mentioned it a couple of times – the versatility because he can wear a variety of hats and perform them all at a very high level. That is just a skillset that is very difficult to find. It just allows you a lot more flexibility as a defensive coordinator when you have a guy who can play the post proficiently, who can play in the line of scrimmage, cover tight ends and play big nickel. We think that is something that Grant will be able to do at the NFL level.”
On if there was a reason to explain Delpit’s missed tackles in 2019:
“I think that he would be the first to admit that it is something that is going to be a focus of him as an area of improvement coming into the NFL. I wouldn’t make any excuses for him. He hasn’t made any excuses for it. He did deal with the high-ankle sprain, but he wouldn’t even give that as a reason for the primary issue. We think the total package and what he does well is going to play really well in our defensive system.”
On how much time the Browns spent watching Delpit’s 2018 film due to his 2019 high-ankle injury:
“A lot. Really for all of these guys that we scout, we really do put weight on the final two college years. It is not just the most recent season. In Grant’s case, there was definitely a stronger focus on both last year and before he did have the high-ankle sprain in late October because you could see it affected his movement later in the year.”
On if there was a sense that Delpit was a first-round talent selected in the second round, particularly given how he played in 2018 and how he was graded publicly a year ago:
“I don’t know that we think of it in terms of whether we are getting a first-round talent just because of the public prognostications over the past year, but we do think we are getting a young talented football player. I will leave it for others to comment on that piece of it. We do know that we are getting a smart, tough, accountable, versatile and ball-hawking ball producer that can wear a variety of hats in the defense and we think could be a good contributor for us both in the short term and in the long term.”
On if he believes in ‘big school football guys’ after selecting players from LSU and Alabama with the team’s first two picks:
“I actually think talent comes from everywhere, and just because our first two picks this year came from the SEC and two of the more established college football programs in the country doesn’t mean that is the only area that we are going to bring in players for the roster. It just happened to work out this way, but there are good football players across all college football conferences and across all college football levels. We won’t be bound to just Power 5 conferences or the SEC.”
On why Delpit was one of the better interviews at the combine:
“When we went into the school, a lot of the feedback was just how smart Grant was and how quickly he could pick things up. In his particular interview session, our focus really was on football context, checks, adjustments, a mini-install with our system and a review of some the things that he did at LSU. He really excelled in that setting. Just really bright, really sharp and can process very quickly so that was one of the more impressive things about him for us.”
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