Honesty is one of the challenges for any executive as the NFL draft gets closer. Certainly, when meeting with the media, GMs do not want to sit at the podium and tell a sequence of fibs. At the same time, they can’t afford to be too honest, lest they spill their secrets as they evaluate their plans when the big day hits. During his tenure as the Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry has honed his ability to answer questions honestly, without saying all that much.
On Thursday, he met with the Browns media in advance of the draft and weighed a topic of significance to both the organization and its fans: Is there any chance that the team will add a quarterback to the mix, beyond the current Shedeur Sanders–Deshaun Watson set up, with Dillon Gabriel hanging on?
And Berry did not rule it out, though he did not give the idea a ringing endorsement, either.
“I think it’s possible,” he said. “Quite frankly, it is possible we could add any position. That’s really the truth. I wouldn’t disqualify quarterback, either.”
Browns Could Add a Quarterback–Early or Late in NFL Draft
There are three lingering scenarios for the Browns to add a quarterback. One would be to pull a draft-day surprise and take the first quarterback expected to come off the board next week: Ty Simpson of Alabama. The Browns could pick Simpson at No. 6, No. 24 or No. 39 (their second-round pick), though the consensus seems to be that the team feels it needs to bulk up the rest of the roster before making a major draft investment in a new guy.
The Browns could pass on Simpson but still draft a rookie in one of the later rounds. This draft has talented quarterbacks that, for a different reasons–mostly injury, but general underperformance by their teams as well–were disappointing in 2025 and slid far down the draft board. Garrett Nussmeier of LSU, Cade Klubnik of Clemson and Drew Allar of Penn State are all QBs who were thought to be first-round picks until they flopped in 2025.
The Browns have nine picks in the draft, and could use one of the final four picks–from Round 5 on, between Nos. 146-248–to scoop up one of last year’s disappointments.
Browns Trade for QB After NFL Draft?
But the Browns also could make a trade for a quarterback. There are not many on the market whom the Browns would find appealing, but there were predictions going back to the NFL draft combine suggesting that Cleveland could add Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson, a former No. 4 overall pick who is not likely to get a chance to play in Indianapolis.
Speaking on the issue of trades, Berry said, “We’ll do anything that can help the team and move the roster forward. But I think that’s much less likely.”
And on the notion of adding a QB, Berry said: “I guess I’d say this, if we add a quarterback, we have a lot of love for the quarterbacks that are in the room, that’s probably the first thing. So that decision would be made independently of anything that we add to the room.”
GettyAnthony Richardson #5 of the Indianapolis Colts was rumored to be a Cleveland Browns trade target.
Quarterback Class of 2027 a Myth, for Now
There has been a presumption around the Browns that suggests the team is keeping its powder dry until 2027, when there is expected to be a much stronger quarterback class. That may be the case, but Berry insists that is not so. After all, this year’s quarterback class was supposed to be an all-timer and fizzled out.
Berry said the 2027 QB class is, as of now, a media construct.
He told reporters: “I mean this respectfully – I think you should ask your counterparts in that regard. So, I think it’s funny, I think every year I sit up here and I’m always asked the questions like, ‘Okay, well, I hear like, next year’s class is going to better. Next year’s class is going to be like’, I don’t subscribe to that notion. I think there will be a number of good players that come from this year’s class.”
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