5 moves that have Browns GM Andrew Berry looking like a genius

Andrew Berry has done a masterful job as the general manager of the Cleveland Browns. Of course, whenever he's praised, there will be those who attack the Deshaun Watson trade but let's be real — Cleveland is 5-1 in games Watson started, so that was working.

He's also built enough depth that the team has withstood the loss of several starters, including Watson and superstar running back Nick Chubb. Now with two games to play, the Browns are aiming to lock up a spot in the playoffs. While that's their focus, we take some time to highlight Berry's five best moves in 2023.

Honorable mentions for the Cleveland Browns GM

Berry made enough moves that we can't limit them to five. While we'll dig deeper into the top five, we also have to mention the following moves that deserve praise. One was the signing of Ogbo Okronwko, who had 4.5 sacks before being injured. Also injured is Dawand Jones, but the fourth-round pick from Ohio State proved to be a steal.

The final honorable mention is trading for Elijah Moore. This move hasn't been as explosive as we hoped but he still has 54 receptions fir 579 yards and a touchdown. That's solid production, which is why he's still mentioned.

5. Bringing in Dustin Hopkins

Once it became clear Cade York wasn't going to turn it around, the Browns let him go and traded for Dustin Hopkins who lost his job to Cameron Dicker with the Chargers. He too recently suffered an injury but not before setting the team record for the most made field goals in a season — as well as the most beyond 50 yards.

Hopkins is being replaced by Riley Patterson but Cleveland has to hope No. 7 returns for the postseason. Right now, he's 33-of-36 on field goals including 8-of-8 from beyond 50. Throw in his 50 touchbacks on kickoffs and Hopkins has proven to be a stud — and was well worth the seventh-round pick it took to land him.

4. Signing Dalvin Tomlinson

In 2022, the Browns were 25th in the NFL in run defense. They were continually gashed up the middle and opposing teams managed 2,295 yards and 22 touchdowns. More concerning was the average yards per attempt, which was 4.7 for the year.

That's why Andrew Berry went out and targeted defensive tackles this offseason. He overhauled the unit with Maurice Hurst, Jr., Shelby Harris, and rookie Siaki Ika being brought in. Hurst, who is also on the IR (notice the trend) was excellent before going down. Harris has been good all year but has improved since taking additional snaps following the loss of Hurst.

Ika was known as a massive run-stuffing nose tackle at Baylor but so far, has just 45 snaps on the year. That's a testament to the depth ahead of him, which is getting the job done. This year, they're vastly improved, surrendering 4.1 yards per rush and are 10th in the league heading into Week 17.

All the players mentioned above have done their part but no one has been more impactful than Dalvin Tomlinson. Nicknamed 'Big Thanos', Tomlinson has 28 tackles and three sacks but it's the attention he commands that's been a huge lift for this defense.

Listed at 6-3 and 325 pounds, Tomlinson draws double-teams which has freed up the players around him immensely. The largest benefactor has been Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah who is playing at an elite level right now. With Tomlinson chewing up the blocks, he's been free to use his athleticism and it's led to one big play afetr another.

3. Picking up Za'Darius Smith

Late in the offseason, the Browns were able to pull off an unexpected trade. In exchange for two fifth-round picks, Cleveland brought in Za'Darius Smith — and somehow even received a sixth and seventh-round pick in 2025 in the process. Smith's addition gave them a proven vet capable of taking attention away from Myles Garrett on the other side.

Smith entered the season with 54.5 career sacks including 10 in 2022. He missed all but one game in 2021 while with the Green Bay Packers but had 12.5 sacks and 13.5 in the two prior campaigns with Green Bay. At 31 years of age, he's heading into the back nine of his career but still has an awful lot to offer.

We've seen this with him recording 26 tackles and 5.5 sacks on the year. This past weekend, Smith recorded two sacks and has turned it up a notch with three over the past three weeks. He's said that he's not satisfied with his sack total but it's an upgrade over anyone they had last year and is still getting after the quarterback — Smith has 27 pressures through 15 games.

There's a chance Smith doesn't return next season since his contract is up but Berry's ability to land a veteran pass rusher for practically nothing was one of his best moves of the year. And if Smith continues to play this well in the postseason, it will look even better.

2. Signing Joe Flacco

The most impressive part of the Browns run in 2023 has been the way they've handled adversity. One player after another has gone down due to injury including their starting quarterback. With Deshaun Watson out, head coach Kevin Stefanski has turned to four different starting quarterbacks — and has secured huge wins with each of them.

P.J. Walker became a fan-favorite when he led them to a victory over the San Francisco 49ers and followed that up by winning a shootout with the Colts in relief of Watson. Rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson shook off a bad outing against the Ravens to secure a 13-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers but when he was hurt against Denver, Cleveland decided to go with Joe Flacco who was recently signed off the street.

Flacco was originally added as insurance when Watson went to the IR but before long, he became the team's savior. In four starts, three of which were wins, Flacco has 1,307 yards with 10 touchdowns. He has seven picks, which isn't ideal, but you'll take those when the quarterback is throwing for over 300 yards with multiple touchdowns every week.

Not only is the team winning with him but the playmakers are thriving. David Njoku looks like the player we've known he can be for years and Amari Cooper just set a franchise record with 265 yards — and gives Flacco praise for the work they've done together. Flacco has been a feel-good story this season and is one of the best moves Andrew Berry has made in 2023.

1. Hiring Jim Scwhartz and Bubba Ventrone

As good as all the other moves were, nothing done by Andrew Berry and the Cleveland Browns has surpassed their moves at defensive coordinator and special teams. Following several years of miscues on defense and special teams, the Browns decided to part ways with Joe Woods and Mike Priefer.

Each had been with the franchise since Kevin Stefanski was hired as head coach in 2020 and Priefer even coached them to a playoff win while Stefanski was confined to his home due to Covid. Despite their trust in one another, it was the right call to find some new voices — and each hire was knocked out of the park.

Schwartz has led a defensive turnaround as Cleveland went from 20th in scoring defense and 14th in yardage last year to 12th in scoring and first in yards — and the scoring number is inflated due to some unfortunate turnovers that led to points. They've also made some clutch stops to secure wins, which is a welcome sight for Browns fans.

As for the special teams, we've all seen how great Dustin Hopkins and Corey Bojorquez have been but there's also a noticeable improvement in punt and kick coverage. They did surrender a 98-yard touchdown to the Texans last week but even with that, they've given up nearly two yards less on kick returns and three yards fewer on punt returns.

Their own return game is still a work in progress but that has a lot to do with Jakeem Grant being out for the year. Overall, this has still been a huge improvement since the Browns are finally competent in all three phases. That's why there's confidence that this team can still make noise in the playoffs even with so many backups taking over.

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