Andrew Berry: Browns in ‘no hurry’ to give away good players

Cleveland GM explains the importance of roster building at key positions as he prepares for the 2024 NFL Draft.

Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry presented an undeniable truth on Thursday.

Speaking to the media just one week before the 2024 NFL Draft, Berry pointed out something so obvious that it seems odd that some still don’t grasp the concept.

Related: Browns add depth on offensive line

To summarize, the NFL is a passing league, teams need players who can block and players who can cover receivers, and the Browns have no intention of dealing from a position of strength at key roster spots.

Berry had to point that out in the face of persistent rumors and questions about the Browns considering the possibility of breaking up one of the strengths of the defense by trading away cornerback Greg Newsome II.

In a league where offenses are in 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end, and three wide receivers) up to 70 percent of the time, Berry is in no rush to move on from the team’s current cornerback group of Newsome, Denzel Ward, Martin Emerson Jr., and Cameron Mitchell (quotes via a team-provided transcript):

“I want as many good corners as possible. Going back to my point about the league playing in eleven personnel, your base offense and defense is really more three receivers and three corners in this day and age. So that’s really how we think about it. Even though we’re technically a four-three, you know, how many snaps will you realistically see us play in base? Not very many over the course of the season. So corners are a premium position. We have three guys who can play press-man coverage at a very, very high level. That’s not a skill set that I’m looking to give away.”

The situation is the same at offensive tackle as the Browns have three starting-caliber players in Jedrick Wills Jr., Jack Conklin, and Dawand Jones. It’s unfortunate that all three are coming off season-ending injuries, but that only underscores the need to have all three on the roster, according to Berry:

“We’ve probably seen that in particular two out of the four years that we’ve been here. Where maybe one or two teams in the league end up having their starting five play the whole season on a given year, so, and that’s one of the positions where once you get into the season, it’s hard to acquire them like the big guys. They’re hard to acquire once you get into, really once you get into camp. So tackle is a premium position. We have good ones, again, in no hurry to give anyone away.”

It’s nice that Berry has a solid grasp on the importance of having quality depth at key positions on the roster, while simultaneously being a bit depressing that he has to spell it out for everyone.