Andrew Berry's Use of Trades to Build, Enhance Browns Roster
Throughout Andrew Berry's first three years in charge of the Cleveland Browns front office, the results of the on-field product have been a mixed bag. The 2020 season was arguably the Browns most successful season since they returned to the NFL, although it was followed by underwhelming seasons in 2021 and 2022. Looking to rectify the shortcomings of the Browns roster, beginning with last off-season, Berry became more willing to pursue new avenues as a way of adding talent to the roster he oversees -- taking a page from a GM whom he admires greatly.
When Berry took charge, he had a clear plan and unlike many other GM's before him, was willing to adapt when the team didn't achieve the desired result. When looking back at his handling of draft capital, there is a clear difference in how Berry approached how to best use these as assets in this third and fourth offseasons than his first two. Although, he had a good reason for being a little more conservative in his first two years on the job.
One of the first big objectives for Berry during his first two off-season's was extending the aforementioned foundational pieces he inherited: Myles Garrett, Nick Chubb, and Denzel Ward. Figuring out how to do this without hamstringing the salary cap in order to stay flexible down the line wasn't going to be easy, but Berry has been able to do it and set the Browns up for success.
The second objective and perhaps the largest for Berry in his first two years was figuring out what exactly he had in QB Baker Mayfield, who was coming off a disappointing 2019 season. The 2020 and 2021 off-seasons were mostly used to surround Mayfield with talent while using the draft assets to acquire talented players they believed could bolster the roster on cheap and manageable rookie deals.
With the the 2020 and 2021 NFL Drafts, Berry quickly established himself as a GM who isn't afraid to move around on draft-day if he feels like he needs to move up for a player, or even if he can move down and still snag a player he is targeting. These draft-day trades have since become a staple for Berry as he has traded picks during every draft since taking over as the Browns GM. At times, he has traded down and grabbed players like Grant Delpit, Martin Emerson, and Cade York. We've also seen Berry move up other times, perhaps most notably moving up in the second round in 2021 to select Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah after nearly taking him with their selection in the first round.
While Berry had no problem moving up and down the draft as he and the staff saw fit, he largely kept his draft picks and used them. He certainly was not hoarding them and stockpiling them for the future like Cleveland fans have seen before, but he was cautious and calculated with his moves.
After a disappointing 2021 season, Berry's philosophy on the Browns shifted -- almost as if he had a plan B in case a Mayfield-led roster wasn't championship caliber. There became a noticeable shift in how Berry handled the draft assets at his disposal starting with the 2022 off-season, and since then he hasn't been shy on flipping picks for players the Browns view as game-changing players.
The first high-profile move Berry made was to trade for at-the-time Cowboys receiver Amari Cooper, giving up solely a fifth rounder while also swapping sixth round picks with the Dallas Cowboys. Although the draft capital was not much, there's the hefty price-tag that is Cooper's salary --but still, given his production in year one and his leadership in the wide receiver room, this trade in itself has good early returns.
Perhaps the most notable example of this newly-adapted philosophy starting last off-season was the trade for the disgruntled and controversial quarterback Deshaun Watson. After they came to the conclusion Mayfield was no longer the guy, they elected to swing for the fences on Watson. Despite having numerous unresolved sexual misconduct allegations at the time, Berry and co. felt he was still the game-changing QB the Browns needed. They proceeded to trade away three first round picks, one third round pick, and a fourth rounder to acquire Watson, and he ultimately missed 11 games of the 2022 season due to suspension.
If 2022 was the beginning of this new era in the Browns front office lead by Berry, 2023 was the year that he again doubled down and pushed all the chips in on this roster. Despite Watson's lackluster performance once he returned from suspension, they clearly still believe -- albeit they have no chance but to believe given the commitment they made -- he has potential to be the same player he was with the Texans pre-2021 when he sat out the entire season.
Berry further bolstered the roster with his willingness to depart with high draft picks, this time trading their 2023 second rounder to the New York Jets in exchange for Elijah Moore. A few weeks later they made the move to sign for Marquise Goodwin, and then proceeded to use their first draft pick available in the third-round to select another wide-receiver in Cedric Tillman.
Last but certainly not least, we have the most recent example: Berry trading 2024 and 2025 fifth-round picks in exchange for the three-time Pro Bowl pass-rusher Za'Darius Smith and 2025 sixth and seventh-round picks. Undeniably an aggressive move that signals the Browns don't simply hope to make the playoffs, but intend to compete once they get there. The reward to the Browns pass rush that only had 245 total pressures is significant. According to PFF, Smith has averaged 81.3 pressures by himself over his past three full seasons, which is more than Garrett at 71.3. For what the Browns gave up in the trade, any concerns over injury or the fact it might be a one-year rental seem minor.
Los Angeles Rams GM Les Snead famously wore a t-shirt that said "F- Them Picks" to the team's Super Bowl parade in 2022, following his oft-questioned philosophy of trading draft picks for established stars. Berry hasn't gone fully down that road, perhaps as he saw things for the Rams slowly start to fall apart this past year, instead somewhat mirroring what Howie Roseman has done with the Philadelphia Eagles.
While Berry only spent one year with Roseman and the Eagles, he has referred to that year as one of the most influential of his career, and even previously referred to Roseman as the best GM in the NFL. The moves Berry has made since the 2022 off-season have really shown Roseman's influence, specifically in regards to how Roseman too has been willing to flip high picks for quality players such as AJ Brown, Darius Slay, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, and how he also is known to move up-and-down the draft routinely.
Berry's meticulous calculation and long-term planning has allowed for him to acquire a quarterback with franchise level talent while still keeping cap space available to make further trades and free agent signings to further bolster the roster, such as what we have seen this off-season. Even still, with all of these moves, the Browns cap is still pretty healthy and while they have one more year in 2024 with no first-round pick, the cupboard still is plentiful with draft picks at Berry's disposal.
The aforementioned 2020 season was evidence that Berry could manage a roster and provide Stefanski with the ability to field a winning football team and achieve their goal of winning a Super Bowl. Ultimately, time will tell whether Berry's plan for the Browns will be as successful as Snead's Rams or Roseman's Eagles; however, in the fourth year of his tenure, there need to be better results than what we saw out of the Browns in 2021 and 2022.
