Andrew Berry has been a pincushion for criticism ever since the ill-fated decision to send a king's ransom to the Houston Texans for Deshaun Watson back in 2022. Like a phoenix from the ashes, however, Berry is not going down without a fight.
Following a 2025 draft class that very plausibly earned him another year on the job, his 2026 class is already looking like one of the league's best by a very important metric.
Every fan's hope for their favorite team in the NFL Draft is that they get good value for their selections. The dreaded "reach" label being applied to your team's selection serves as an immediate dark cloud over the celebration that draft day is supposed to be.
In an effort to assess Andrew Berry's performance this year, we went into the lab and cooked something up. The result? An absolutely scrumptious filet mignon.
Using Pro Football Network's consensus big board, we compared a player's standing to the slot at which they were eventually selected. Subtract those two values, and voilà, you’ll have an idea of whether a player was a reach or a value pick. Here's an example to tie it together: wide receiver Denzel Boston ranked No. 30 on PFN's consensus board, while the Browns were able to select him at No. 39. This represents a plus-9 value pick. That's a win for the Brownies.
The numbers behind the Browns’ 2026 draft haul are hard to ignore
When it comes to the draft, particularly the sixth and seventh rounds, things can get a little dicey. Teams start attempting that eyes-closed, behind-the-back, one-legged basketball shot that is a staple of H.O.R.S.E. games from when you were a kid. To not overly penalize those dart throws, we looked at Rounds 1 through 5 to get a fair read on each team's draft class.
For their haul in those rounds, the Browns received a plus-33 value compared to player placement on the consensus big board. This ranked sixth in the entire NFL. Their plus-4 value gained per selection also ranked sixth in the league.
In other words, on average, the Browns drafted players who should've been selected four spots earlier than where they got them. That's value.
The Browns' company in the top 10 should be comforting as well. They fared just better than the Eagles and slightly trailed perennial playoff teams like the Chiefs and Bills. Some surprise teams like the Raiders, Panthers, and Giants are here, too, a sign that the tide could be turning for them as well.
It's often hard to get your hopes up with this franchise, as they've frequently broken their fan base's hearts with almost impressive precision. The 2026 NFL Draft class should have fans ready to get hurt again. Maybe, just maybe, the Browns are building something the Dawg Pound can be proud of this time around.
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