Titled The Virtual Draft, this episode dives into what the new normal is for the Cleveland Browns and how they are setting people up for the Virtual NFL Draft and player meetings. Keep in mind, this wasn’t an experience where the Browns only took care of top level representatives. Throughout the episode there are players being setup with iPads to learn plays and coaches being given the in-house technology needed to participate in the draft experience.
The Virtual Meetings
Monitors, desktops, IT monitoring of phone and internet connections, Microsoft Teams meetings, Web-X meetings, funny backgrounds, phones, draft boards, and on and on and on. The Browns were ready and able to take care of the needs of their coaches for the first ever virtual draft.
Specifically, Building the Browns zoomed in on what it took to get General Manager Andrew Berry setup. The Browns dropped off a TV monitor which would be streaming the teams draft board, phone, one laptop and extra monitor for the team’s war room, a camera to stream for ESPN, and another computer specifically for the Microsoft Teams NFL Draft room. Talking about the experience Berry said the staff is using a lot of the same tools now for the draft that they would always be using. They now don’t have the convenience of being together in the same room.
WORK
Kevin Stefanski will not be outworked. His desktop background says “WORK” and he shared a quote with the team during an online meeting, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe”, Abraham Lincoln. Stefanski when on to talk about how he wakes up every day thinking there are a millions guys outside his door trying to take his job.
Waterboys
In a non-football related part of the show, and an obvious attempt to improve the public perception of Myles Garrett, the Browns shared part of Garrett’s experience as the Waterboys’ team captain. Waterboys was a program started by Chris Long, Joe Buck, and Brad Pitt’s brother, Doug. The mission of the project is to provide clean, accessible drinking water to communities in need. Garrett’s work with Waterboys took him to Tanzania.
Garrett went on to say he is preparing for the season both mentally and physically. He is focused on starting the season in mid-season form.
A Jarvis Landry message
Jarvis Landry had a simple message he wanted to share with everyone in the NFL Draft. He congratulated everyone who was going to be draft and reminded them that everyone going later needs to remember the beauty of the draft is that no matter where you were taken you still need to prove yourself. You are who you are. Take the opportunity to show the world.
Alignment
According to Paul DePodesta, the Browns staff had a meeting ten days prior to the NFL Draft. DePodesta went on to say that they agreed there were ten things they needed to accomplish. He didn’t outline them all, but he shared:
- Finding an offensive tackle
- Doing some things to help with the depth on defense.
- Picking up additional draft capital for the 2021 draft
With their first round pick
The Browns’ first round pick was announced by Fletcher Rollinson. Fletcher is a 12-year-old boy from Rocky River who came home recently after years of fighting a rare cancer. Coming home in a pandemic isn’t ideal, but Fletcher did share these words of wisdom for everyone, “Don’t panic… Take it seriously, but don’t panic.”
Review
The Browns did not spend too much time on the prospects, but did give us a great glimpse into what the “new normal” looks like for the Browns. It is a virtual world and every aspect of the team has been impacted.
Overall, it was really intriguing to get a glimpse behind the curtain. I believe the Browns were adequately prepared and seemed to embrace the NFL Draft. Also, as Commissioner Roger Goddell said, there are aspects of the draft which will carry over into the future.