Executive Vice President, Football Operations and General Manager, Andrew Berry and Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (4.25.25)
Opening Statement:
Andrew Berry: “All right, so busy Friday night for us this year. Really excited about the four guys that we added to the roster this evening. Maybe give you kind of a quick hitter on each player. So first with Carson, I think you guys know our history here is we haven’t necessarily invested a ton of resources, you know, in the off the ball linebacker room with really Jeremiah (Owusu-Koramoah) being the notable exception in 2021. We felt like Carson (Schwesinger) was a pretty unique player at the position. Fast, athletic, really good in the passing game, he can blitz and he’s super smart and aggressive. We felt like he was really another modern-day archetype at the position, and we really felt like he could really elevate that position room if we can get him to his potential at maturity. So we’re really excited to add him to the team. With Q (Quinshon Judkins), you know, rugged run style. I’m sure a lot of people in this room have seen him at Ohio State this year. Really a bell cow, versatile runner who can run through you, run by you, run around you. We’re really excited to have him available to us at the 36 pick. With Harold (Fannin Jr.), he’s really kind of the queen on the chessboard. He’s a really good ball in hand player, can separate as a pass catcher despite being a little bit undersized. He’s really a good movement style blocker and he fits perfectly in terms of what Kevin (Stefanski) and Tommy (Rees) want to do philosophically on the offense. And then Dillon (Gabriel), we spent a lot of time with Dillon throughout this process, brought him in right after the combine, did obviously the private visit and workouts out in Eugene (Oregon). Decorated college career, very accurate, very poised, throws with anticipation, good mobility. We just thought he had a really well-rounded game. And the biggest negative that you can say about him is that he doesn’t have ideal height. But that’s not something that we felt like showed up in his game or his film at UCF, Oklahoma, and certainly not at Oregon this year. So, we’re really excited to add these young guys to the room or, excuse me, to the roster. With that, I’ll open up for questions.”
Andrew, throughout this entire draft process, you talked about value, maximizing the value of these picks. At 94 with Shedeur Sanders still on the board, a guy that you spent a lot of time with, why was the value not there to take him and at quarterback take Dillon?
Berry: “Yeah, you know, like I said, we really felt strongly about Dillon throughout this process. You know, I think he’s a really strong, really, really good prospect. You know, that’s not to say that we didn’t meet with other quarterbacks that we thought were really talented players and good people. But, we felt strongly about Dillon. We think he’s an excellent player and felt like he was the most appropriate player to pick for both”
Looking at Dillon’s numbers, more than 2,100 career passing attempts, but only 32 interceptions. Kind of going back, Kevin (Stefanski), to you talking about taking care of the football, how much of that, when you looked at his game and talked, , how much of that was part of the evaluation with him?
Kevin Stefanski: “Yeah, I mean, like AB (Andrew Berry) said, Chris (Easterling), it’s such a – when you’re looking at any position, you’re looking at so many things in total, but certainly when you bring up that amount of attempts versus those interceptions, that speaks to the quarterback’s decision making. So that’s certainly one of the things that you’re excited about with watching Dillon, with being around him, understanding how he thinks about the game and understands how to take care of the football.”
Can maybe both of you address how much time you guys spent with him at the Senior Bowl and you know, having Jacques (Cesaire) there, coaching the team that he was on and also having Bubba (Ventrone) there, how much did that give you a little head start on the eval?
Berry: “Yeah, I’d say, you know, for really all of our prospects, we try to get as many touch points as possible. I think I mentioned in my pre-draft presser just why we think with the quarterback position the additional time, the additional inverse and visits are important. So, with Dillon, obviously has a lot of college film in a number of different environments and different offensive systems. You see him for the full week at the Senior Bowl where he’s just kind of thrown into the mix, new offense to see that he really passes that test. You see him, meet with him, at the combine, we bring him in the, you know, I guess what, three days after the combine ends for the top 30 visits, go out and see him in Eugene and do the private workout and visit and everything. So we felt like we had a really strong feeling of what we believe to be his strengths and weaknesses throughout the process and got to know him really well like a lot of the other quarterbacks in this class.”
Kevin, you can answer this. When you talk to these guys in these interviews, what kind of read do you get on how receptive a player will be to learning? Like he’ll have to be learning under Joe (Flacco) and Kenny Pickett?
Stefanski: “I think every single one of our guys we bring in, Jeff (Schudel), understand that they’re rookies and they have work to do, no different than any position. And I think, you know, to AB’s (Andrew Berry) point, just about these four guys that we’re bringing in tonight and then add Mason (Graham) from, was that yesterday? These are good players. These are good people. These are people that we want in our building. We want to embrace them into what we believe. They are certainly made of the right stuff. And part of that, to your question, Jeff, of having that makeup where they’re not finished products, and they know they have a lot to learn. They’d be very, very smart, all these guys, to learn from these veterans in the building.”
Andrew, when you’re watching quarterbacks go off the board, was Dillon (Gabriel) a guy that you kind of targeted at this spot the whole time, or like, how did that kind of play out as you’re watching the other guys go?
Berry: “Yeah, no, he was. He was among the short list of players that we were considering well before the draft at this spot Scott (Petrak), yeah.”
And, Kevin, how do you evaluate what Andrew called, the lack of ideal height, for a quarterback in this league?
Stefanski: “It’s a good question. Obviously, there’s guys that have come before Dillon. There are guys that will come after him that don’t have the, quote, unquote, ‘ideal height’. But hasn’t held him back in his career. You know, he’s been that height for a long time. He finds a way to get it done. And, you know, that’s so important. There’s quarterbacks, different shapes and sizes. You have to be able to move in the pocket. You have to feel the pocket, you have to find throwing lanes, you have to change arm angles. All that comes innately, I think, to players based on how they’ve kind of played the game their whole life.”
Andrew, just two things about Gabriel. First, just comment on it. He seems like an older player, six years experience, 24 years old. Comment on that. But also, just before him, (Jalen) Milroe went to Seattle, totally different styles, obviously. Was Milroe among the considerations at that pick?
Berry: “So for your first question, it probably goes back to when you asked about the age thing before the draft, like that can be a factor in a prospect’s profile, but there’s no single eliminator. Every prospect is going to have strengths and weaknesses in their profile. Probably age with quarterback, there’s a little bit more fluidity with that, honestly, Tony (Grossi) and I think also, the difference is, you think of age in the context of their college career. So, like with Dillon, the guy’s played football, been a starting quarterback since he’s been 18 years old, in college football. This is not a player who it took several years for him to become the starter and didn’t become the starter until he was an older college senior. So, we didn’t feel like that that was a major detriment in terms of his profile. And in terms of Jalen, we spent a lot of time with him. Obviously knew him really well, know him really well. From Tommy’s (Rees) experience in Alabama, you’re right, very different styles. But we’ve always said with the quarterback position, our view is we want to make sure that we build around that player according to their strengths. So, Jalen’s strengths are very different than other prospects in the class strengths. If we had selected him, we would have built an offense that we thought was appropriate for his strengths and we would do the same for any quarterback in the room.”
Speaking of building around him, this was a skills players kind of day for you guys. You said day two is a sweet spot for the draft. So, for you, what did you maybe like about what this draft offered and how do you envision these additions coming into what you hope is another revamped offense this year?
Berry: “Yeah, so I guess I’ll go with the last part of your question, Cam (Camryn Justice). With Q (Quinshon Judkins), we feel like he’s just a very well rounded back and we’ve obviously been spoiled over the past couple years, particularly with Nick (Chubb) and Kareem (Hunt) and we feel like he is very much in that mold in terms of skill set. Not necessarily saying that he’s going to, with certainty, develop into one of those players, we certainly hope that’s the case, but we think that he can be a bell cow runner that can really carry the load for us. And then Harold (Fannin Jr.), like, he’s a mismatch piece for us in terms of how defenses are going to have to account for him and David (Njoku) on the field when we’re in 12-personnel. And whether he’s split out, whether he’s in a traditional alignment, whether he’s in the backfield, he gives us that flexibility for Kevin (Stefanski) and Tommy (Rees) to be really creative in terms of how they design personnel packages, formations, and ultimately scheme up the run and pass game. And in terms of Dillon, I kind of touched on him already, but that’s how we would view it.”
With Carson (Schwesinger), Andrew, did Jim (Schwartz) give you a bear hug when you drafted him? You mentioned you’re open, like you guys haven’t spent a lot of draft capital on that particular position, what was it about him that had you using that 33rd pick on him?
Berry: “Yeah, I think the biggest thing for us is guys at the off the ball linebacker position. For us to maybe go outside of the norm, we have to project them to be able to do something special or well above average in the passing game. And for Jeremiah (Owusu-Koramoah), that was really his ability as a blitzer. Like, he was a great run defender because he can make plays behind the line of scrimmage and everything, but he was really special – or is really special, I should say, as a blitzer. With Carson, his profile is maybe a little bit different in the fact that he’s shown himself to be a really strong coverage player. Whether man or zone, he very much, like Jeremiah, he’s very good in the run game, very instinctive, a surefire tackler. But when we look at that position and if we’re going to invest significant resources, it’s, ‘hey, can this player contribute above and beyond on third down?’”
For Kevin, with adding Harold (Fannin Jr.) to your tight end room, we know how much you love tight ends, he really seemed to stand out in the big games against the bigger opponents. How much did that catch your eye? And when you’re watching those highlights, did that get you doing a little lobbying for him with Andrew?
Stefanski: “No lobbying. Yeah. I mean, I think with Harold, that the tape kind of speaks for itself. An extremely productive player, we did a lot of work on Harold. [Directed at Andrew Berry] Can I tell them we went to Bowling Green?”
Berry: “You can tell them. You can tell them where we had the…”.
Stefanski: “We had lunch at Fricker’s. Yep, which was lovely. No, but so we did a ton of work on Harold. The tape jumps out, like you said. I mean, you watch Penn State, watched Texas A & M. He’s a very productive player. Coach (Scot) Loeffler did an awesome job with him at Bowling Green, moving him around the board like AB (Andrew Berry) said, like a queen in chess. And he’s very versatile. He’s a young man, I think he’s just 20 years old, so there’s a lot of development there. But excited about the versatility that he brings and it’s on tape. He really lines up all over. He’s a wildcat quarterback. He does a lot for the football team and is a young player that we feel like can ascend.”
Berry: “Have you guys talked to Harold yet? Oh, okay. Well, when he comes, th here next time you talk to him, ask him how he picked Frickers as the restaurant. Just ask him.”
Along those lines of what Kevin was talking about with him (Harold Fannin Jr.) being only 20 and that young. Like, was it similar to David (Njoku) when you guys were evaluating him back then to think, “hey, this kid’s not even going to be 21 until a few months from now?”
Berry: “It’s a good observation actually. I think this maybe even kind of blends into your questions about age, Tony (Grossi) I think if you think oftentimes about the top of the draft, it’s like age combined with some form of early production and the physical characteristics for that player to be able to get on the field early enough to develop. And I think for Harold, the way we looked at it is like, okay, here is a 20 year old pass catcher who’s playing at a mid-major and he’s the guy that everybody knows that they have to stop and you know, whether he goes to College Station or, you know, at Penn State, and he’s the best player on the field, like nobody, nobody at 20 years old. And he’s the one person going in that two of the top defenses in college football have to stop. So, like, yeah, that weighs heavily. There are very few, you know, skill players that can do that later in their college career. And for him to be able to do that with maybe not a dynamic supporting cast, you know, at 20 years old, it’s, it’s incredibly – at a young 20 years old at that. It’s very impressive. Again, it’s not the end all be all, you know, in terms of youth. But I guess think about it this way, like for him to do that at 20, you know, at Bowling Green, whereas if you think about an individual athlete who did that would have done that at 23, at, I don’t know, LSU. Like, there is some important context there in terms of the quality of the performance. So, we do weigh that. Again, it’s not like it’s a platonic shift in terms of how we would view the valuation, but it does mean something.”
In talking to Dillon at the Senior Bowl, he’s obviously very, very confident. He’s played a ton of football. Will he have a chance to come in here and compete for the starting job just as much as Kenny will and just as much as Joe will?
Stefanski: “I think all of our players are competing for starting jobs, I think. But the most important part for any player walking into our building is really focusing on the work that it’s going to entail, Mary Kay (Cabot), because, as you know, it’s a lot coming at these guys early. So, we’ll get our hands on them in a couple of weekends at the rookie minicamp. But we anticipate all of our players to carve out a role, whether that’s as a starter, as a backup, and it’s really no different here.”
And how will it present some challenges for you to divide up the quarterback reps? You’ve never really had to do that before quite like this.
Stefanski: “Sure. I think it’s over the course of time, I’ve been around and Tommy (Rees) and Bill (Musgrave) have been around examples where you have sometimes four guys. So, there’s ways to maximize reps would be the best way to put it.”
I know that, you know, needs or perceived needs don’t necessarily drive your thinking in a draft, but JOK (Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah) has an uncertain situation. Nick Chubb’s not under contract, and David Njoku has one year left on his deal. So to pick players on day two in those positions, does that set you up for however those situations may play out? Is that when you think of one foot in the present, one in the future, is that what we’re talking about here?
Berry: “Yeah. Look, Nate (Ulrich), I think that’s a fair observation. Not to say that that’s what drove the decisions or the strategy, but you do keep all those things in mind. I’d say it’s less from an okay, this is where we ended up going into the draft, but, like, holistically in the off season, as you enter February, you think, okay, here’s what we think we’re going to do in free agency, here are the strengths and the weaknesses of the draft class, how does that match up with the short and long term, you know, of the roster? Like, okay, no secret, this was going to be a really strong running back class, right? Like everybody heard that going into the draft. You know, we thought it made sense for us to take a young back whether it was you at 36, where we did or you know, later on and where you are in that room does, you know, does factor into it, won’t drive the decision, but it is a part of the calculus.”
If you’re in a situation where you’re playing your rookie quarterback, just the fact that he’s left handed, how much goes into that, if anything?
Stefanski: “Not a ton, Nate. The ball spirals a little bit differently, but you know, there’s been plenty of examples of guys that have done it at a high level.”
It seems everybody in the country is surprised what’s happening to Shedeur (Sanders), except everybody in the NFL. So, is what’s happening to him being undrafted at this point coincide with your ranking of him?
Berry: “You know what, I think it’s unfair for me to comment. I guess, maybe on behalf of the industry. All I can say is this: You know, the time that we spent with Shedeur and what he’s done throughout his college career is impressive. He’s an impressive young man. He’s a really good quarterback. Sometimes, fit comes into play and I’d also say this, there are four more rounds of the draft. Lastly, it’s less about where you get picked, and what you do after you get picked. That’s really the most important thing. Getting to know him over the course of the spring, he has a ton of resolve and I think he’s going to find himself in a really good spot.”
With Quinshon (Judkins), Glenn (Cook) sort of mentioned, one part of his game where he maybe needs to improve a little bit is catching passes third down, sort of being used in that way. As you kind of think through what this backfield looks like with him, obviously you have Jerome Ford on the roster already, how do you sort of see his role? Is it more of like a first down, second down thing? How are you kind of picturing that coming together?
Stefanski: “I would point out too these guys are young and it’s our job to develop them and they’re not finished products. He has a very legit skill set right now and a skill set that we can use, and when he has the ball in his hands, whether we hand it to him or throw it to him, we want to use him in a bunch of different ways. But that’s something that we’ll always, with all of our players, identify things that we’re going to help them get better at. And that’s what, that’s what Deuce is here for. That’s what I’m here for, to help our guys reach that potential. Because we’re drafting young men here that are that are just not finished products.”
Berry: “If you guys remember when we took Nick in 2018, his rookie year, he had a strong rookie year, but the thought going into it was like, ‘Okay, well, he can’t play on third down because he doesn’t catch it well enough. What’s he going to be like as a protector?’ And he spent that whole offseason that was his focus. He’s like, look, ‘I’m just going to catch a ton of passes, touch, you know, ton of balls off the jug machine. I’m going to be great on pass pro.’ And he became a good third down player for us. So, to Kevin’s point about development and these being young guys, none of these players are coming in as finished products, but part of our job is to help them improve and grow both on the field and off of it.”
Does the pick of Carson (Schwesinger) say anything about JOK (Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah) recovery from the injury? Does that signal that he’s not going to be good to go?
Berry: “No, Scott (Petrak), it doesn’t. And it’s the right question. I totally understand. That did not drive the decision for Carson. I want to be clear there.”
If JOK were completely healthy, would Carson (Schwesinger) still be in play?
Berry: “Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely.”
Just following up on Carson (Schwesinger), Andrew, he had one great year as a linebacker. Is there a concern about just the short sample size and also just his versatility on special teams? How much is that a benefit at least in the short term?
Berry: “So it is something we talked about, like, yeah, you’d love to have a robust sample. I think honestly that’s probably part of the reason he was discounted, because his year is outstanding and physically, mentally, subjectively, objectively – pretty hard to find holes in his game. In terms of the kicking game part of it, his speed, his instincts, his tackling ability, it’ll play well, as he contributes in that phase. Obviously he has some experience doing it from college. We think that there’s a nice short term and long term role for him.”
One of the things that Harold (Fannin Jr) talked about at Senior Bowl was wanting to show coaches and GMs that he can block as well. What have you seen on film from him that he can be a blocker in that role at tight end and that he can grow in that area as well?
Berry: “Honestly, I think people just look at his weight and assume he can’t block and because he’s such a good pass catcher. But I just think that’s totally incorrect. He shows plenty of that on film. Certainly how we use him as a blocker may be different than how we would use David (Njoku) just because of their body types, but just honestly, I think that’s a bit of a lazy narrative.”
Stefanski: “Yeah, I think, Kelsey (Russo), it’s really, when you’re talking about tight ends, there’s so many different jobs that go into it and some of them are the traditional inline hand in the dirt, got to cut off a 280 pound six technique who became a seven technique, and that’s really hard. Then there’s also jobs you have to be from the backfield, coming across the line of scrimmage to block the defensive end, or inserting as a rap blocker on a gap scheme. So there’s so much, so many different jobs that come from that room. And to Andrew’s point, it’s our job to put him in position to succeed and not ask him to do things that are not within the scope of what his skill set is.”
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