j/c
It's really remarkable that AB has survived the utter disaster that he had a huge hand in creating...while having more cash to spend then most GMs could only dream of. Let's overlook for the moment the fact that DW ended up being garbage....let's assume that he was just middle of the pack.
Look at what he would have around him. What was the plan to build around the quarter billion dollar man? The focus on AB's performance is always talked around the DW debacle. People decide to forgive him or hang him based on that trade and no one focuses on the overall roster that he has built since then.
Those willing to forgive and overlook the overall roster now tout his last draft...and he drafted some darn good players. But when you take a DT at #5 overall and a LB & RB at the top of the 2nd, you darn well BETTER have drafted a darn good DT/LB/RB. Premium picks on non-premium positions.
I want to see him draft a stud OT and WR. Those positions are difficult to project. I want to see him find a quality QB...all while appearing to at least have a plan for the other parts of the roster.
Six years in and I'm not holding my breath.
I would actually debate you over the OVERALL ROSTER statement.
QB room, I will fall on my sword, this debacle is a Haslem issue. Berry just had to deal with the fallout. If this was a Berry made situation, he would not still be employed.
O-Line, this is probably where I "blame" Berry the most. He knew about the injuries, he knew about the ages and yet all at once we have a catastrophic issue that culminated in a horrible 2025 and desperate 2026 off season.
WR, you can't say the guy hasn't tried. He has brought in draft picks (though he didn't have high draft picks at his disposal until last year thanks to Watson), trades and free agents. He's brought in Amari Cooper in his prime and Jerry Jeudy in his prime. I'm not entirely sure what else he could have done given circumstances.
I will argue once again the influence of Watson. He has been injured pretty much his entire tenure here. So my question is, knowing this going into the past two seasons, would you have rather he didn't fortify the defense and draft offense last year with those first two picks? I think it ended up being wise to get the best bang for the buck with those two first rounders, rather than reaching for an offensive piece.
Let's look at what that could have looked like:
At #2 overall:
Travis Hunter, He has already gone through an injury riddled season and designated a defensive player moving forward
Will Campbell, He has already gone through an injury riddles season, then after his poor performance in the post season, there is much speculation he will be moved to guard to try to salvage him.
At #5 overall:
Ashton Jeanty, He averaged 3.7 ypc and had 5 TDs.. We got our RB in the second round and as a rookie he averaged 3.6 ypc and had 7 TDs... I'm ok
Armond Membou, right tackle in the top ten. I'll give him props, he started every snap and only had 8 penalties called on him as a rookie. Other than that, I can't argue a RT over a DT in this pick
Tet McMillan, Probably the best argument for missed opportunity, however, I would argue with Flacco/Gabriel/Sanders combo, he would not have been ORoY, Bryce Young enjoyed his best season as a Pro, but that actually could have been a product of drafting Tet...
I argued for Tet McMillan last year and I have also said my piece on drafting Carnell Tate this year.
Now let's look at #33:
Carson Schwessinger is the reigning DRoY
Missed out on Jayden Higgins.. that's where the list ends. Again, I'm good...
#35 drafted Judkins, which again had similar numbers to Jeanty in a limited season due to "almost suspension", missed game 1 and injuries. I liked what I saw when he was i there despite the offensive line play.
So, my argument lies in, where did Berry go wrong so far with this roster?
We are good at TE, we are good at every position on defense. Again, under the notion that you can't fill every position with an All Pro... no team in history has done that. Can we improve some, what team can't? But, Berry has put this OVERALL ROSTER in a position to succeed in 2027, sooner if Sanders can make a huge leap this off season or if Watson decides to look like an NFL QB again. If neither step up, then we could be in position to get one of the QBs coming out in 2027, which it is my opinion there will be at least 4 worthy of early first round consideration. Much different than the past two drafts.