How Andrew Berry can create additional Cleveland Browns draft picks

Will he make any moves?

Sashi Brown knew how to accumulating draft picks and manipulate the salary cap in but couldn’t draft.

John Dorsey could pick winners in the draft and free agency, but could not manage the salary cap, accumulate draft picks or make trades. Under his leadership, there were talented players brought in, but the supply of extra draft picks dried up and even reversed as the Browns gave up their first round draft pick last year.

Giving up high draft picks makes sense if your team has a one or two year window for a Super Bowl, like, say, the New Orleans Saints.  It makes no sense for teams trying to improve, such as the 6-10 Browns.

In the transition from Brown to Dorsey, for one bright shining moment in 2018, the Browns had the best of all possible worlds, with extra draft picks obtained by Brown, and Dorsey making the right calls. From Houston, Brown obtained the 4th overall pick (Denzel Ward), as well as the 35th overall pick in Nick Chubb.

To underscore, neither Ward nor Chubb would be on the team without the efforts of Sashi Brown.  Conversely, without John Dorsey, it is possible that less talented players would have been selected. It’s probably best that we never had to find out whether Sashi Brown would have drafted Josh Rosen over Baker Mayfield.

Here is hoping that Andrew Berry will be the man to combine both worlds. Perhaps he can draft quality players while also managing the cap and building through the draft.

The Village Elliot believes that Berry will clear a little cap room by making some cuts of underperforming veterans. He will also accumulate draft capital, especially in 2021 and beyond, using the methods described in this article.

He will be less likely to burn draft picks to pick up veterans like John Dorsey did, especially the backup veterans that resulted in forfeiting compensatory free agents.