Cleveland Browns: Paul DePodesta will be involved in 2020 NFL Draft

Paul DePodesta’s name’s been all over the news lately as the Cleveland Browns shift back to analytics, and he’ll have role in the 2020 NFL Draft

Groundhog Day came a few weeks early, as fans of the Cleveland Browns got a rare glimpse of Paul DePoesta, the team’s Chief Strategy Officer.

DePodesta can see Spring, and it comes April 23 for the Browns, when the team goes on the clock in first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

It was in front of a scrum of reporters following Kevin Stefanski’s opening press conference that the executive, said he plans to possess a “Process oriented role” in the upcoming draft.

The executive’s name has been in the news a lot lately with the Browns returning to their 2015-2017 model of relying more on analytics.

There’s been speculation as to what DePodesta’s role with the organization may be after it was reported is contract was up. However, with the selection of Stefanski as head coach, it was generally viewed he would stay on with the organization.

Northing official was announced, but DePodesta held court in the locker room following Stefanski’s press conference and indeed, his words indicate he plans to be around.

"“I’m not going to pick the players, but I am going to try and make sure that the players we do pick, again, align with our vision of what is a winning franchise,” he said."

Surely, this leads you to wonder how the organization is going to function following the hire of a general manager.

Will this GM be given a list of DePodesta approved prospects? What if the GM really likes someone who DePoedsta believes doesn’t “align” with the Browns?

"“My charge is not to watch tape and say, ‘This guy has great feet!’ We’ve got scouts who are way better and may more qualified than I am to do that. But when we come down to making a selection, it is my role to say, ‘Ok, are we making a decision here that aligns with our way and does it make sense?'”"

Leading up to the firing of Freddie Kitchens and John Dorsey, it was rumored DePodesta was looking to have his voice heard more in the organization. His recommendations of hiring Sean McDermott and Kevin Stefanski, and his arguments against against Hue Jackson and Kitchens apparently fell on deaf ears.

As for a new contract, the Godfather of baseball sabermetrics said his new contract will be dealt with after “coach is in place.” Since that done, perhaps he was also talking about the general manager..either way, it sounds like DePodesta will be re-upping with the Browns and the Haslams.