2010 NFL Draft Player Profile: Safety Eric Berry
The Cleveland Browns have the 7th pick in the upcoming 2010 NFL Draft, which leaves them plenty of opportunities. It’s also impossible to count on your hands the number of needs this team currently has. Therefore, in the coming weeks leading up to the NFL Draft, we will be profiling some players that could potentially fit into the Browns’ draft plans.
Eric Berry (Safety, Tennessee Vols) – 6-0, 194 lbs., 4.35 40
Eric Berry was pretty much the premier safety in the country while playing for the Tennessee Volunteers, racking up numerous awards and
wowing crowds with his speed and highlight reel plays on opposing teams. Being that Berry is a member of the secondary (he could play either safety or cornerback), he is absolutely a player that the Browns can – and should – target. Granted, Cleveland does pick seventh, and it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that Berry would be gone by then. However, with the amount of picks the Browns have this year (11 so far), it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for them to move up and try to grab him. But do the Browns lose picks to gain a potential Pro Bowler or use all their picks to add depth?
Berry has been described as simply being a great athlete, though he has also been praised for his ball skills and ability to not only intercept passes, but turn them into touchdowns. His physicality is something the Browns have been sorely missing in the secondary, and it is likely he would begin to bring some sort of stability to this tumultuous part of the Browns’ defense.
A consistent knock on Berry is his average height, but that shouldn’t be something of great concern because his ability to make plays and his overall instincts are not something to pass up simply because he “isn’t tall enough,” especially when he has been getting many comparisons to Baltimore’s Ed Reed.
Berry will most certainly be gone in the top 10 of this year’s NFL Draft, but the only question is, who does he go to? Can the Browns realistically draft him? With his skill set, all the options for obtaining this rare type of player should be exhausted before giving up on the possibility.
Stats
2007 – 86 total tackles (52 solo), 5 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, 1 TD
2008 – 72 total tackles (44 solo), 3 sacks, 7 interceptions, 2 TDs
2009 – 83 total tackles (54 solo), 1 forced fumble, 2 interceptions