CLEVELAND — As rookie wide receiver Isaiah Bond made his NFL preseason debut with the Browns on Aug. 23 in their 19-17 win over the Los Angeles Rams, general manager Andrew Berry spoke during the third quarter on News 5 Cleveland’s telecast and discussed why the franchise signed an undrafted free agent who had been accused of sexual assault.
“A big part of it is we have gotten to know Isaiah as a player, person over the past calendar year and then obviously done an enormous amount of work on his legal situation,” Berry said. “That’s something we never take lightly when a player is alleged to be involved in a situation like that.
“We got really comfortable doing our due diligence and our investigative work. We felt comfortable with the player just based on his time with [Browns offensive coordinator] Tommy Rees at Alabama. And after [Bond’s] criminal case was resolved, we felt really good about bringing him into the organization.”
Bond’s criminal case was resolved when a grand jury in Texas declined to indict him, returning a “no bill” on Aug. 14. Four days later, the Browns announced they signed him. He received a three-year deal worth $3.018 million fully guaranteed.
The term “no bill” should sound familiar to Browns fans because another grand jury in Texas returned “no bills” in March 2022 on nine criminal complaints stemming from sexual misconduct allegations against quarterback Deshaun Watson.
The development spurred the Browns and three other NFL teams to meet with Watson in attempts to convince the former three-time Pro Bowl selection to waive his no-trade clause with the Houston Texans. After initially being rejected, the Browns sealed the deal with a five-year contract worth $230 million fully guaranteed and sent a haul of draft picks, including three in the first round, to the Texans.
The combination of the disastrous Watson trade and Berry’s poor draft record, which obviously hasn’t been aided by the absence of Round 1 choices from 2022-24, makes the Browns desperate in 2025. It’s reflected by how their player personnel department operates.
The company line is the Browns want to grant players second chances, yet previous misses in talent evaluation and acquisition are more realistic sources of motivation in a cutthroat business like the NFL.
The “no bill” Browns are compelled to compensate for the past.
None of this is meant to suggest Bond and Watson were in the same legal boat when the Browns pursued them. Bond had one accuser. Watson had more than two dozen accusers and faced lawsuits. Both players have denied wrongdoing.
Whether Bond turns out to be a better on-field investment than Watson remains to be seen. Bond has merely a few Browns practices under his belt and wasn’t targeted as a receiver against the Rams.
The Browns clearly believe they need Bond to be good, and it’s easy to understand why.
Below is a review of Berry’s draft record since he became Browns GM in 2020. Excluding the current rookie class because it lacks regular-season experience, information is listed about the players, including the Pro Football Focus positional rankings of those who logged enough snaps to qualify in the website’s grading system.
DT Mason Graham (Round 1, No. 5 overall)LB Carson Schwesinger (Round 2, No. 33 overall)RB Quinshon Judkins (Round 2, No. 36 overall)TE Harold Fannin Jr. (Round 3, No. 67 overall)QB Dillon Gabriel (Round 3, No. 94 overall)RB Dylan Sampson (Round 4, No. 126 overall)QB Shedeur Sanders (Round 5, No. 144 overall)
Cleveland Browns 2024 NFL Draft classDT Mike Hall Jr. (Round 2, No. 54 overall): Part-time Browns starter last season (3 starts in 8 games) who’s on Cleveland’s active/physically unable to perform listG Zak Zinter (Round 3, No. 85 overall): Browns backupWR Jamari Thrash (Round 5, No. 156 overall): Browns backupLB Nathaniel Watson (Round 6, No. 206 overall): Browns backup placed on injured reserve on Aug. 21CB Myles Harden (Round 7, No. 227 overall): Browns backup competing for nickelback jobDT Jowon Briggs (Round 7, No. 243 overall): Former Browns backup trying to make Jets’ rosterCleveland Browns 2023 NFL Draft classWR Cedric Tillman (Round 3, No. 74 overall): Projected Browns starter (9 starts in 25 games). PFF: 106/128 WRs (2023); 81/133 (2024)DT Siaki Ika (Round 3, No. 98 overall): Former Browns backup not in NFLOT Dawand Jones (Round 4, No. 111 overall): Browns starter (17 of 21 games). PFF: 48/81 OTs (2023); 77/81 (2024)DE Isaiah McGuire (Round 4, No. 126 overall): Key Browns defender competing to start. PFF: 13/119 DEs (2024)QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson (Round 5, No. 140 overall): Ex-Browns backup trying to make Eagles’ rosterCB Cameron Mitchell (Round 5, No. 142 overall): Browns backup vying for nickelback job. PFF: 105/116 CBs (2024)C Luke Wypler (Round 6, No. 190 overall): Browns backupCleveland Browns 2022 NFL Draft classCB Martin Emerson Jr. (Round 3, No. 68 overall): Key Browns defender who’s started 33 of 50 games but will miss 2025 with injury. PFF: 23/118 CBs (2022); 67/127 (2023); 111/116 (2024)DE Alex Wright (Round 3, No. 78 overall): Key Browns defender who’s started six of 37 games and is competing to start. PFF: 119/119 DEs (2022); 97/112 (2023)WR David Bell (Round 3, No. 99 overall): Browns backup who’s on the active/non-football injury list. PFF: 109/113 WRs (2022)DT Perrion Winfrey (Round 4, No. 108 overall): Ex-Browns backup trying to make Cowboys’ roster. PFF: 117/127 DTs (2022)K Cade York (Round 4, No. 124 overall): Browns kicker in 2022 season who’s a free agent. PFF: 32/43 kickers (2022); 39/43 (2024)RB Jerome Ford (Round 5, No. 156 overall): Key Browns player who’s started 18 of 44 games. PFF: 39/59 RBs (2023); 32/59 (2024)WR Mike Woods (Round 6, No. 202 overall): Former Browns backup waived from IR on Aug. 5DE Isaiah Thomas (Round 7, No. 223 overall): Ex-Browns backup trying to make Bengals’ rosterC Dawson Deaton (Round 7, No. 246 overall): Never played in NFL regular seasonCleveland Browns 2021 NFL Draft classCB Greg Newsome II (Round 1, No. 26 overall): Key Browns defender who’s started 42 of 54 games. PFF: 32/116 CBs (2021); 34/118 (2022); 55/127 (2023); 106/116 (2024)LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (Round 2, No. 52 overall): Berry’s most accomplished pick started 41 of 49 games and made a Pro Bowl (2023) before suffering a neck injury in 2024. He won’t play in 2025. PFF: 9/86 LBs (2021); 38/81 (2022); 18/82 (2023); 7/84 (2024)WR Anthony Schwartz (Round 3, No. 91 overall): Former Browns backup who’s out of NFLOT James Hudson III (Round 4, No. 110 overall): Started 17 of 49 Browns games and is with Giants. PFF: 77/81 OTs (2023)DT Tommy Togiai (Round 4, No. 132 overall): Former Browns backup trying to make Texans’ roster. PFF: 61/118 DTs (2024)LB Tony Fields II (Round 5, No. 153 overall): Ex-Browns backup trying to make Rams’ rosterS Richard LeCounte III (Round 5, No. 169 overall): Former Browns backup is out of NFLRB/WR Demetric Felton (Round 6, No. 211 overall): Ex-Browns backup trying to make Commanders’ rosterCleveland Browns 2020 NFL Draft classOT Jedrick Wills Jr (Round 1, No. 10 overall): Started 57 of 58 Browns games but had several injuries and is out of NFL. PFF: 57/79 OTs (2020); 52/83 (2021); 56/81 (2022); 64/81 (2023)S Grant Delpit (Round 2, No. 44 overall): Browns starter (52 of 61 games). PFF: 49/92 safeties (2021); 54/88 (2022); 31/95 (2023); 45/98 (2024)DT Jordan Elliott (Round 3, No. 88 overall): Ex-Browns starter now 49ers starter. PFF: 105/124 DTs (2020); 101/108 (2021); 118/127 (2022); 112/130 (2023); 97/118 (2024)LB Jacob Phillips (Round 3, No. 97 overall): Former part-time Browns starter (8 of 20 games) now on Colts’ IRTE Harrison Bryant (Round 4, No. 115 overall): Former part-time Browns starter (30 of 65 games) trying to make Texans’ roster. PFF: 53/71 TEs (2020); 30/70 (2021); 43/73 (2022); 47/72 (2023)C Nick Harris (Round 5, No. 160 overall): Ex-Browns backup trying to make Commanders’ rosterWR Donovan Peoples-Jones (Round 6, No. 187 overall): Former part-time Browns starter (30 of 50 games) whom Saints cut Aug. 21. PFF: 69/91 WRs (2021); 67/92 (2022)
Berry has drafted 44 players, including seven this year. Of the 37 he picked from 2020-24, one has made a Pro Bowl, nine have been full-time starters for at least one season and 17 are still members of the Browns.
This, in a nutshell, is why the Browns are the way they are.
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.