Browns' receiver questions potentially has multiple answers for GM Andrew Berry to find

Wide receiver or defensive tackle? Browns general manager Andrew Berry wasn't going to tip his hand when the question came up during last week's NFL combine.

"All the above," Berry said. "All the above. Good try, though. I appreciate it; it's a good try."

Arguments can be made for both. Defensive tackle is marred by question marks, mostly created by the large number of free agents off last year's roster at that specific position.

Receiver isn't a position that is staring at the potential of a lot of free-agency losses. What it is facing is questions about the quality of the depth behind No. 1 receiver Amari Cooper, especially considering the investment the Browns have made in quarterback Deshaun Watson.

"Yeah, any quarterback I've ever been around would always take more guys, of course," Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said at the combine. "But I think Deshaun trusts Andrew. I trust Andrew. We'll go through this process and do what is right for the team, but certainly you're always trying to add as many weapons as you can."

The Browns have spent one of their top draft picks each of the last two years on receivers, albeit third-round picks both times: David Bell in 2022 and Cedric Tillman last year. They've also added through a major trade — getting Amari Cooper in 2022 from the Dallas Cowboys and Elijah Moore last year from the New York Jets — and through free-agent signings like Marquise Goodwin.

Cooper and Moore have been the most effective of those acquisitions over the last two seasons. The former is a clear No. 1 as the first Browns receiver with back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons; the latter coming on over the second half of last season to finish with a career-best 59 catches and 640 yards.

However, the Browns also know that Cooper, in particular, is reaching a critical point in his career. This season will be the Pro Bowler's 10th in the league, and he'll turn 30 in June.

"Honestly, we just look at it historically in the sense of each position has maybe what we would call a different aging curve, and then even within the position, the style, there may be a subset of aging curves based on the style of player or the specific risk factors that they have in their career," Berry said. "So there's not necessarily a blanket formula for deciding when receivers may decrease their production as they go further in their career. But we do try and take, I guess [an] approach, with different cohorts of likely profiled individuals."

That's part of the reason why Berry and the Browns have been so connected to receivers since the season ended with the AFC wild card loss to the Houston Texans. The first stage of potentially addressing those needs starts on March 11, the first day of the free-agency negotiating period.

The top-tier of free agents — such as Tee Higgins, Mike Evans and Michael Pittman Jr. — may be too rich a price point for the Browns to add, either because of carrying the franchise tag or because of their asking price. However, there's another tier of receivers — including Darnell Mooney, Gabe Davis and, possibly, Calvin Ridley — that could provide opportunities for them to add to their roster.

"Honestly, it's probably more about where we see the roster currently," Berry said of his overall free-agency approach. "That's more what will dictate the approach as opposed to where we ended last season. So remember when we were in 2020 — we made the playoffs, but we were actually still pretty aggressive in free agency the following year because we had a fair amount of work to do with the defense. I can't say that I think we're necessarily going to have that level of volume with the team currently, but things really do change from week to week, so I can't say that."

Last week, though, Berry's primary focus was on the draft as he and other key Browns decision-makers were at the combine. It gave him a first-hand look at what is seen as a very deep receiver class that could provide true value even for the Browns with their first pick, No. 54 overall.

The Browns are known to have met with multiple receivers during combine week, including Texas' Xavier Worthy, Oregon's Troy Franklin and Georgia's Ladd McConkey. The meetings, whether formal or informal, weren't just beneficial to the team.

"That went pretty good," Franklin told reporters at combine of his meeting with the Browns. "I remember them for sure. They definitely asked me about some plays. Had to reiterate them back to them, formations and stuff."

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Andrew Berry has multiple possible answers to Browns receiver question