For most of the last two decades, the Cleveland Browns exemplified what it meant to be an N.F.L. bottom feeder.
Between 2001 and 2019, the Browns enjoyed only two winning seasons and one playoff berth behind a rotating cast of starting quarterbacks, coaches and front-office executives. Fans attended games wearing paper bags over their heads in disgrace.
But that changed last season under the direction of Andrew Berry, who at 32 became the N.F.L.’s youngest-ever general manager in January 2020.
Berry’s smart free-agency signings and roster management helped vault the Browns into the playoffs, turning him into a rising star among his peers.