Jerry Jeudy trade one for Cleveland Browns' now and, possibly, future | Chris Easterling

Andrew Berry was asked at the NFL combine about the evaluation of wide receivers.

It wasn't a question about the Browns general manager's feelings about this year's draft class. Instead, it was about veteran wide receivers, especially ones who are growing long in the proverbial tooth age-wise.

"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 at the time. "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."

The question is pertinent in the moment as the Browns' No. 1 wide receiver, Amari Cooper, will turn 30 in June. Not only that, but the highly productive Cooper also enters his final season under contract.

That leads to a completely different answer to the question by Berry on Saturday. It was an answer through action, not words, as he agreed to a deal with the Denver Broncos to trade for wide receiver Jerry Jeudy in exchange for a fifth- and a sixth-round pick.

The deal, which can't be official until the league year begins at 4 p.m. Wednesday, can be viewed through the simple prism of the now. The Browns needed to add talent to their wide receiver group as they build around quarterback Deshaun Watson, and the former first-round pick has been the object of Berry's affection for more than a year.

The 24-year-old Jeudy adds one of the league's top deep threats — his 10 catches of 40-plus yards since 2022 makes him one of five in the league with double-digit catches of that distance — along with one of the more polished route runners to the Browns. There he joins another player who belongs in both of those categories — Cooper.

In some ways, it's like Berry will be acquiring a younger version of the 10-year veteran Cooper, right down to the South Florida and University of Alabama ties. So, it's not a stretch to see the longer-term play here as well.

At the end of this season, Cooper, Jeudy and Elijah Moore — last offseason's big receiver trade acquisition — all will be free agents. That leaves Berry with a wide range of options in order to shape the receiving corps beyond the upcoming season.

The upcoming season, though, could very well shape how Berry shapes the future.

It starts with Jeudy, who was deemed expendable by the Broncos despite 211 catches for 3,053 yards and 11 touchdowns over his first 57 games. A quick connection between Jeudy and his new quarterback, Watson, opens the door to the possibility of an extension for the receiver.

Cooper, who's the first Browns wide receiver to have back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons, has shown no signs of slowing down. He's played through a significant core muscle injury in his first season in Cleveland, and likely would've avoided missing a Week 17 game against the New York Jets with a foot injury had the game not been on a Thursday night.

It's not a certainty this season will be Cooper's final one in Cleveland. Going back to Berry's answer at the combine about evaluating aging receivers, though, and this upcoming season will likely determine the path forward.

Moore's future could very well be dictated by what the Browns do in April's draft. The wide receiver draft class is viewed as deep, so the Browns could utilize one of their two day-two picks — No. 54 or No. 85 — as essentially a way to bring in his replacement down the road.

It's a road the Browns can navigate much better after the trade for Jeudy.

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: Jerry Jeudy deal one for Browns' present and future: Chris Easterling