With the Cleveland Browns initial 53-man roster set, adding QB Kellen Mond a day later and filling most of their practice squad, the 2022 squad is all but complete. Of course there will be some changes as injuries, poor play and GM Andrew Berry’s desire to church the bottom of the roster happen but, for now, we have a good feel for the roster.
The 53-man roster is the youngest in the NFL and has just 33 of the 53 players who made the 2021 roster.
One of the biggest reasons for the young roster and a big portion of those 33 players are all the players Berry has selected in his first three drafts except Nick Harris and Dawson Deaton who are on injured reserve:
- 2020 – Jed Wills, Grant Delpit, Jordan Elliott, Jacob Phillips, Harrison Bryant, Donovan Peoples-Jones
- 2021 – Greg Newsome II, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Anthony Schwartz, James Hudson, Tommy Togiai, Tony Fields II, Richard LeCounte III, Demetric Felton
- 2022 – Martin Emerson, Alex Wright, David Bell, Perrion Winfrey, Cade York, Jerome Ford, Michael Woods II, Isaiah Thomas
Browns fans aren’t used to a front office staying intact for three straight drafts but keeping all of your draft picks for three straight years is rare:
The #Browns still have not waived a member of their 2020, 2021, or 2022 draft classes.
This makes them the only team (since at least 2014) to get though final cuts without having waived a player from their last three draft classes.
— Anthony Reinhard (@reinhardNFL) August 30, 2022
Of the initial 53-man roster, 22 have been drafted by Berry. If Harris had not gotten hurt that number would have been 23 but Deaton was on the roster bubble and could have ended the streak.
One variable is that Berry often drafts younger prospects which leads to hope for development and growth but also takes patience.
Until Cleveland wins consistently, Berry’s methods will be questioned. Is he being stubborn? Arrogant? Too patient? If the team wins consistently, his methods will be copied by others around the league.
It will be interesting if, somehow, this streak lasts throughout the 2022 season and into the next off-season.
