The Cleveland Browns surprised nearly everyone when they used two picks on quarterbacks in this year’s NFL Draft. First came Dillon Gabriel in the third round. Then, in a move that caught even more attention, they traded up to grab Shedeur Sanders in the fifth.
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The moment the pick was announced, speculation started. A video showed general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski sitting stone-faced in the draft room. No smiles. No high fives. The internet took that and ran with it. This had to be a Jimmy Haslam move, people said. Just the kind of splashy, headline-grabbing call the Browns owner has made before.
Only it wasn’t.
“If you had told me Friday night driving home y’all are gonna pick Shedeur, I would say that’s not happening,” Haslam told reporters at training camp Tuesday. “We had a conversation early Saturday morning and then we had a conversation later that day. I think we had the right people involved in the conversation.”
Then Haslam made sure to make the chain of command clear.
“At the end of the day, that’s Andrew Berry’s call,” Haslam said. “Andrew made the call to pick Shedeur. Just like who’s gonna start or what play we’re gonna call, that’s Kevin’s call. But that’s Andrew’s call. He made the call.”
That might raise some eyebrows. This is the same Haslam who has often been described as a hands-on owner. He drove the trade for Deshaun Watson, which so far has been more regret than reward. He has cycled through front offices and coaching staffs. He once gave Johnny Manziel his own personal security detail.
So for Haslam to step back and let Berry run the show on a pick like this (or so he says) should be considered no small thing.
Sanders, the son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, came into the NFL draft with plenty of attention and expectation. At one point, he was projected to go much earlier. But he slid. By the time the fifth round arrived, Berry saw a value pick and moved up.
The reaction video still leaves room for questions. Berry and Stefanski looked more tense than excited. Maybe it was a long day. Maybe it was just a poker face. Or maybe, as some believe, there was some disagreement in the room. If so, that’s not new in a war room. But Haslam insists Berry made the call, and that’s where it ends.
Either way, Sanders joins a quarterback room that consists of Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Gabriel, and yes, still Watson.
This pick may turn out to be a footnote. It may turn out to be the start of something bigger. But for now, the Browns insist it was made the right way.