Browns: Andrew Berry won’t be ‘pigeon-holed’ during the NFL Draft

The Cleveland Browns newest GM Andrew Berry is looking to redefine fortunes for the team by not being ‘pigeon-holed’ by expectations.

Andrew Berry isn’t going to let having the tenth overall pick define what the team does in the 2020 NFL Draft. According to a post on ClevelandBrowns.com, Berry made it clear that he’s open to everything from trading up, to trading down, to even standing pat.

“You never know how those first nine picks are going to fall,” Berry said Monday in a video call with local reporters. “There are a number of scenarios that could mean we send a pick, move up, move back, do whatever. We’re not going to be pigeon-holed to a certain decision or mode of operation. We’re going to make the best decision that we think is right for the roster.”

Berry also made it a point to dismiss the idea of picking a player because he plays a position of need. He comes across more of a man embracing the idea of picking the best player available, regardless of anything else. He even goes as far as to take the outlook of a team conducting a draft with an expansion roster, which sounds a little insulting. There’s plenty of fans who remember the last two expansion rosters and those didn’t go over too well for either Cleveland or Houston.

“Our outlook with the draft has really been to scout and evaluate as if you have an expansion roster,” Berry said. “That is really the case every year. We do not really go into a fall or spring and just say, ‘Hey, look, we are just going to hone in on these specific positions.’ Again, the draft is more about maximizing the amount of talent and the long-term talent on your team as opposed to filling needs. Very few rookies come in and hit the ground running and play at a Pro Bowl-caliber level in their first year. I think that is the wrong focus.”

That’s a sentiment that fans should agree with Berry on. The desire for a rookie to have an instant impact is always expected but it shouldn’t be. Allowing a young player time to grow into who he could be is extremely important. A player’s progression or growth could be rushed, resulting in that player’s potential being stagnated or ruined altogether. For Berry to be aware that some rookies will need time to evolve is incredible foresight, which is something the team has often lacked in past years.

Berry’s desire to work for the players they want, and not accept what comes to them should be praised by the Browns fanbase, though some are so snakebitten over mistake after mistake by the franchise, that often they don’t really know what the team should do and react out of fear. Fear of another draft failing to meet expectations.

The team has had just as much success moving in past drafts as they had standing pat, and that’s actually a pretty sad statement, considering all the resounding failures the team has had to cope with since 1999.

Berry seems confident that the decades of missteps will come to an end starting Thursday evening.

The 2020 NFL Draft starts Thursday, April 23, 2020, and runs until Saturday, April 25, 2020. Follow along with Factory of Sadness for all of your Browns news and reactions during the event.