The Cleveland Browns have received third round compensatory picks in the past when Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was hired as the general manager of the Minnesota Vikings. They could be on that pathway again if assistant general manager Catherine Hickman lands a general manager job this offseason.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer put together a shortlist of hot general manager candidate names as the NFL offseason nears, and Hickman, who has worked with the Browns under Andrew Berry for three seasons.
Before working with the Browns, Hickman held the title of vice president of football operations with the Philadelphia Eagles and even interviewed for the Vikings’ general manager gig that Adofo-Mensah received.
Here is what Breer had to say on Hickman:
“The former Catherine Raîche has an intriguing résumé, having worked in decision-making positions for two CFL teams (Montreal Alouettes, Toronto Argonauts) before being hired to Philly by Roseman. It was there that she worked with Andrew Berry, who brought her over to be VP of football ops, the role Berry himself filled with the Eagles, when he became Browns GM. Hickman’s big-picture approach to marrying the operations side with the scouting side has definitely been an asset for Cleveland, and other teams will probably like her experience there working with ownership, too. I said it last year and I will say it again—she’s a good bet to be the first female GM.”
The NFL instituted a rule to promote diversity hires in 2020 that instituted the rewarding of two third round compensatory picks to a team that lost a minority coach or football executive to another team.
The other assistant general manager, Glenn Cook, has also interviewed for general manager jobs over the past two years. He did not make Breer’s shortlist this year, however. The Browns would also receive two compensatory third rounders if Glenn were hired as a general manager elsewhere.