Cultivating talent in house earns Browns unique draft pick

The Cleveland Browns helped raise the profile of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.

The Cleveland Browns brought on Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in 2020 to be Andrew Berry’s assistant GM. He did a fine job in that role and no doubt learned a lot from Berry, who has developed the roster over the last two years. While the Browns failed to live up to expectations, injuries were really the true issue the team faced. Berry has done a fine job and built a nice defensive unit with very little in the way of big-money players. This is something Adofo-Mensah will surely take with him when he leaves, as he’s rumored to be going to Minnesota to be the Vikings’ new GM.

It’s not great that the Browns are losing a valuable asset in Adofo-Mensah but they’re at least going to be handsomely compensated for the signing, as the Browns will get an extra third-round draft pick in the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft and again in the 2023 NFL Draft.

The reason the Browns get these picks is a bit baffling but as Nate Ulrich from the Akron Beacon Journal describes it;

"In November 2020, NFL owners approved a resolution stipulating teams that lose a minority coach or executive to a head coach or general manager job with another club will receive a third-round compensatory pick for two consecutive years."

The Cleveland Browns could really use the extra picks right now

The addition of more draft picks, especially after the year the Browns had, is a great thing. While debate rages over what to do with the quarterback positioning; most agree at least, that a change is needed behind incumbent Baker Mayfield, that doesn’t mean the quarterback spot is the only one that is up in the air.

The offense needs new receivers and a potential new tackle or two. The tackles don’t necessarily need to be starters but after 2021, Blake Hance, James Hudson, and Chris Hubbard are not really being seen as quality backups at the moment. So they need to be replaced.

The team also needs some depth at linebacker, and at safety, while adding two brand new starters at defensive tackle. Rookie talent gets a bait spotty after round three, so making sure you can get as many Top 100 picks as possible is a great way to go if you intend on using rookies as starters.