The grades are starting to come in on the Browns’ offseason, and Cleveland is earning marks that would have seemed unthinkable just a year ago. With training camp right around the corner, national analysts have had enough time to step back and evaluate everything Andrew Berry and the front office accomplished between January and now. NFL.com analyst Matt Okada recently handed out offseason grades for every AFC team, and the Browns walked away with one of the stronger evaluations in the conference.
Okada broke down what Cleveland did right and why the overall body of work this offseason earned the organization an ‘A-‘ grade.
“As with the Dolphins and Jets, Cleveland’s offseason should clearly be viewed through the lens of a rebuild. In that context, it was solid. Trading a future Hall of Famer is admittedly tough, but getting a talented youngster to replace him in Verse, plus a package of picks, cushions the blow. The Browns also maneuvered extremely well in the draft, trading down from sixth to ninth overall and still snagging Fano, picking up receivers KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston plus safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren on Day 2,” Okada wrote.
The Myles Garrett trade alone could have derailed everything if the return did not justify the cost, but getting Verse plus future draft capital in exchange for a 30-year-old defender, no matter how dominant, was the right call for a franchise still building toward its competitive window.
Cleveland entered the NFL draft with the 6th overall pick and made the decision to trade back to 9, picking up additional assets in the process without sacrificing the player the front office had targeted. Landing Spencer Fano at 9 after trading down was a big win for Berry. And the fact that Cleveland also secured Concepcion, Boston, and McNeil-Warren was considered a steal by many draft analysts.
Berry has taken criticism throughout his tenure in Cleveland, and some of it has been deserved, but the talent being brought in here is as strong as it has been in years.
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