Why did the Browns draft Dillon Gabriel in the third round and Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round? – Nomar R., Brighton, Michigan
To start off, one of the biggest factors to address is that Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager Andrew Berry said it wasn’t necessarily the plan going into the weekend to select two quarterbacks.
“You envision how the draft could possibly play out, and then you just really adjust to what’s on the board,” Berry said. “We don’t really go into the draft saying okay, like, ‘hey, here are our needs and we’re just going to pick players at need positions.’ If you do, that’s typically how you make mistakes. So, there is a little bit of a flow to the weekend because the board does take different twists and turns as you go. Some expected, some unexpected and ultimately, we try and do everything in our power to maximize the impact of the picks we have in aggregate.”
Berry said they do believe in best player available, as well as positional value. And while they didn’t originally think that Sanders would be available in the fifth round, when the opportunity rose to make the trade and jump from No. 166 to No. 144, they took that chance. They had evaluated who else was available from a prospect standpoint, and as different names came off the board, considered the potential of taking Sanders.
“We live by our board. We felt like he was a good, solid prospect at the most important position. We felt like it got to a point where he was probably mis-priced relative to the draft. Really, the acquisition cost was pretty light, and it’s a guy that we think can outproduce his draft slot,” Berry said. “Our expectation is for him to come in here and work and compete. Nothing’s been promised. Nothing will be given.”
In both players, Berry said the Browns saw accuracy and decision making as strengths of their individual games. As they join the quarterback room, they both will have the chance to compete among the quarterbacks.
After addressing defensive tackle, linebacker, running back (twice), quarterback (twice), and tight end during the draft, what are the Browns most pressing remaining needs as we approach the coming season? – Nick D., Surprise, Arizona
With where the roster sits right now following free agency and the draft, one of the positions that the Browns could look to address is safety. With Rodney McLeod’s retirement, that unit is led by Grant Delpit and Ronnie Hickman, and also has Christopher Edmonds and Trey Dean III. It’s a position group that could use another depth piece to round out the room heading into the 2025 season.
The Browns could also look at wide receiver. Currently their receiving corps is led by Jerry Jeudy and features Cedric Tillman, Michael Woods II, Jamari Thrash, David Bell and Kaden Davis. Cleveland made one addition during free agency with the signing of DeAndre Carter to a deal.
