Cleveland Browns GM Andrew Berry was on the verge of losing his job a few years ago, which perhaps could have been unfair, considering he wasn’t the one pushing to trade three first-round picks for Deshaun Watson, which did unfathomable damage to this franchise over the past five years. Nobody is calling for his firing anymore after bringing in two exceptional draft classes in 2025 and 2026, and now at 5-3, Berry’s hard work is starting to show up in the win column.
However, there will always be fans and analysts who will nitpick his work. That’s just the nature of the game, and one former player believes one of his moves in the ’25 draft was a big mistake.
During a recent episode of The Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show, Ross Tucker spoke about the Browns passing on New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough in the second round and taking running back Quinshon Judkins instead. Browns fans will have a close look at Shough on Sunday when these two teams face off in New Orleans, and Tucker is one of the select few who will be watching and wondering how things would be different had the Browns made a different decision.
“I think Judkins is a good player, but if they could’ve come out of the draft with Mason Graham, (Carson) Schwesinger, and instead of Judkins, gotten Shough, and then forget about (Dillon) Gabriel and Shedeur (Sanders), they would really be cooking. That would really have been something,” Tucker said.
DID THE #BROWNS DRAFT THE WRONG GUY?! 😳🏈@RossTuckerNFL believes Cleveland should've selected #Saints QB Tyler Shough INSTEAD of Quinshon Judkins in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft!
Was passing on Shough a mistake?! 👀
▶️ https://t.co/NhjGBUesyC pic.twitter.com/pln215DiGb
— Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show (@ultCLEsports) November 4, 2026
Tucker noted that there were legitimate red flags that caused Shough to drop in the draft, most notably his age and injury history, but he also called him a top-20 quarterback in the NFL. So far in his brief career, Shough has undeniably done a nice job while Judkins hasn’t quite lived up to expectations.
Shough is also 27 and Judkins just turned 23, and given where the Browns are developmentally as a cohesive unit, Shough may not even be on their timeline. It was important for Berry to build up the rest of the roster so that when that franchise quarterback does present itself, he’ll be stepping into a great situation where he can win right away and develop as a player.
The Browns putting Shough behind last year’s offensive line as an injury-prone rookie with no weapons could have ruined his career. It’s possible that no quarterback could have saved last year’s team, so while some fans may watch Sunday’s game against the Saints and think about what could have been, this team has the draft capital to go find their own Shough, or perhaps someone even better.
NEXT: Shedeur Sanders Breaks Silence On His Agent Decision
