BEREA, Ohio — The Browns typically keep things close to the vest in their press conference and general operations. That was somewhat true on Thursday as general manager Andrew Berry held his pre-draft press conference—but there was still plenty to take away from the media availability.
Here's what we learned from Berry on Thursday:
How Nick Chubb is doing
The Browns lost Nick Chubb in Week 2 last season to a brutal knee injury that required the star running back to have surgery to repair his MCL and ACL. Since then, Chubb has been doing what he does best—working hard. From crutches to light walking and even walking up a set of stairs to smash a guitar for pre-game celebrations last season, Chubb's progress has been visible.
But how is he fairing through the offseason? Berry said things are progressing well for Chubb and he's even started running not on equipment or in water, a technique used to reduce stress on joints during rehab.
"I think you guys have heard me say he's really attacked it very aggressively, really since he's been able to in the fall. He's going at a good pace. It's still early. He actually started running on land this past week. That's not to say that he's through the woods or anything, but he's doing everything in his power," Berry said. "He's progressing appropriately, but certainly the next few weeks, next few months will be big as we continue to increase the load that he's able to put on his knee, and then how much he's ultimately able to do during his training."
Berry also discussed Chubb's recent contract restructure, praising Chubb and his representation Todd France and A.J. Stevens for being easy to work with when finding a deal that worked for the team and for Chubb. He also shared what the team is looking forward to most with Chubb's return this year.
"I think everybody in this room is happy that Nick is back as a Cleveland Brown and we're very optimistic that he's going to crush the rehab...I'll share a quick story...So our VP of football administration, Chris Cooper, who does a phenomenal job in the contract management space, after we got the deal done with Nick, he was like, 'I'll be honest... one of the moments that I'm probably looking forward to the most and may be at the top is the next time that Nick Chubb runs out of that tunnel right before the game at Cleveland Browns Stadium.' And I think Chris' sentiments probably speak for a lot of people in this room and a lot of people in the fan base."
The Browns aren't rushing Chubb back, but any progress is good news in anticipation for his return to game action this season.
How Deshaun Watson is doing
Another key player going through injury rehab is quarterback Deshaun Watson, who spoke Tuesday during Phase 1 of the Browns' voluntary offseason workouts. Watson shared that he's feeling "really good."
“I feel really good. Very confident in myself in the process that’s going. My shoulder’s been really well, so just making sure that I don’t do anything extra that’s going to harm it or anything like that. So I think that’s the biggest thing— that’s exactly what Dr. [Neal] ElAttrache and the guys told me is don’t try to do anything extra and rush back," Watson said. "So just follow the script and the plan, and you’ll be exactly where you want to be, even better than before.”
On Thursday, Berry said as much when asked about the quarterback. While Watson said he's not rushing through things, the Browns general manager shared a milestone in his rehab as well.
"We have a regular cadence, regular checkpoints. This week, Deshaun was throwing up to 40 yards. He's in a pretty good spot. Again, I don't want to put the cart in front of the horse, but he's progressing as appropriate. We're really, really pleased with the work that he's put in and really pleased with how the shoulder's responding, but we're still in the middle of a rehab process, so we know that it can take different left and right turns, but we're pretty optimistic in terms of what we've seen so far," Berry said.
Berry isn't in the market of making promises about timelines for players like Chubb and Watson rehabbing through injuries, he did reiterate the organization's confidence Watson will be ready to go Week 1.
"We feel really good about it. I'm not going to make any predictions, just because you just never know. But that's certainly our expectation," he said.
What the approach is with no first-round pick
In the final year without a first-rounder following the 2022 trade for Watson that saw the Browns give up a first-round pick that year, last year and this year, Berry has to once again navigate the draft to find later-round talent.
The Browns won't be active on the first day of the draft, which is reserved for the first round. That gives them time to see how the board falls. For Berry and his front office, which also includes assistant general managers Glenn Cook and Catherine Raîche, the process doesn't lose excitement from the night one inactivity.
"I think, and this is probably doesn't matter if they're first-round pick or seventh-round pick, I think the developmental aspect is really cool to me seeing an individual come in at 20, 21, 22, and not only just see them mature as a player as they go through their career, but also just mature as an adult. That's actually one of probably the most rewarding parts of the job for me," Berry explained. "And then probably the second part is when you've maybe identified a player that you think the industry at large will either undervalue or view differently than we do organizationally because of their relative strengths and relative weaknesses and then having the ability to acquire that player because you think that individual's strengths align with something that you value offensively or defensively where they can carve out a role and play well. So those are probably the two aspects that are the most exciting to me."
With that said, the Browns will decide how they utilize their picks, especially No. 54 in the second round, closer to when they're on the clock.
"It probably starts Thursday night, where you kind of restrategize a little bit based on what's happened on Thursday. But in reality you probably get a more narrow focus maybe call it 10 picks out. Because that’s when really players become more in striking distance, so to speak," Berry said.
What the team might do with the two seventh-round picks
The Browns recently traded offensive tackle Leroy Watson IV to the Tennesee Titans in exchange for a seventh-round pick in this year's draft, giving them two selections in the final round.
Second Round - No. 54
Third Round - No. 85
Fifth Round - No. 156 (From Eagles through Cardinals)
Sixth Round - No. 206
Seventh Round: No. 227 (from Titans)
Seventh Round - No. 243
Now, Berry and his team have found some gems via the draft outside of the first round, including fourth-round pick Dawand Jones, third-round pick MJ Emerson and even second-rounder Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who is playing at first-round pick caliber.
But the seventh round is where teams can take chances on guys. The stakes aren't very high. So the Browns could opt to make two selections—or as Berry said Thursday, they could use the picks in other ways.
"We'll see if we make two selections there. So it's a resource, it's a trade that we thought could give us a resource that we could use effectively. How we deploy that resource remains to be seen. It could be we could select players with those two picks. It could be part of a move up, it could be part of a move down, it could be a trade for veteran player, you just never know. So we'll be open and flexible in terms of how we use them," Berry said.
Browns still aren't married to a position
Since Berry and this regime of the Browns brass took the reigns back in 2020, the organization hasn't entered a draft voicing positions they felt they would specifically target.
In most years, the needs of the roster are obvious in terms of players who have departed or injuries that have depleted a group. This year, there are a few areas the Browns could use some added talent, including wide receiver, tight end, offensive linemen and defensive interior players. Not to mention the mantra of Berry: "You can never have too many corners."
The Browns could very well add players at any position, and Berry said as much with a straight-to-the-point answer when asked what position has the most depth this year.
"I understand the question, but you're going to hate me for saying this, but good players at every position," he smiled.
Last season taught a lesson in surprises
Last season had plenty of shocking storylines within the Browns and around the league. In Cleveland, it was a slew of injuries that took out nearly the entire offensive line, the quarterback, the star running back, key members of the defense and beyond. Then it was the Browns' success despite those injuries.
Berry, when asked about rookies like Jones who had to step into a starting role due to injuries and how the team balances those moments with still wanting to let players develop with time, shared how those moments exemplified how "the NFL is full of surprises."
"I think you guys hear me say this every year that you really get surprised in both directions every year...Let's say a year ago at this time, if I was up here in my pre-draft presser and I said, 'Alright, I've been to the future and when we get to the Super Bowl, you're going to have Brittany Mahomes, Taylor Swift, Ice Spice, and Jason Kelce all in the same suite watching the Super Bowl,' you guys would've looked at me like I had five heads," Berry joked. So it's always full of surprises and it's really the same thing with players. I don't think any of us anticipated going to the season and we would be down three tackles, Nick Chubb and Deshaun Watson for most of the year, that we would lose Grant Delpit, Juan Thornhill and Rodney McLeod late in the season. So in terms of spots on the 53 or who's going to play what, it all looks good in May until adversity hits or something unexpected happens, whether it's injury or performance.
"Probably more generally as we think of the current roster relative to the draft, the draft has always been about long-term investment in the roster. We don't think of it as I talked earlier on how rare it is for a player to come in immediately and play at a starting caliber level. We really look at it with, okay, how are these players going to impact, call it the 2025 to 2027 Cleveland Browns? And if they develop quickly and produce with impact in their rookie season, that's great. Dawand Jones did that. We're not going to keep them off the field, but we really do look at it as in terms of a long-term investment in the team," Berry continued.
As Berry said Thursday, some things just won't be known until closer to the draft and when the Browns are on the clock. Until then, for the organization and those who follow it, all eyes are looking ahead to the 2024 NFL Draft, which take place Thursday April 25 through 27 in Detroit.
https://www.news5cleveland.com/spor...browns-gm-andrew-berrys-press-conferenceIt's a fairly long read but I think it covered a lot of ground on many of the questions that most Browns fans were curious about.
