DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2022 NFL Season 2022 NFL Draft Martin Emerson, corner, selected with the 68th pick

I would think they bump Newsome inside when they go to three or more corners. Of course, I could be dead wrong.

Yes, that seems to be the plan, but now we become weaker on the outside, which is why I don't care for that scenario very much.

Just my opinion, but I think we would be good w/Newsome inside and have Ward and Greedy outside.

"- Career reception percentage allowed of 56.2 percent"

And that's in college folks.I read the Browns believed his college coaches used him incorrectly,they tried to play him as a corner.

... Ballpeen, Emmerson can only replace Greedy or AJ by contract if it turns out Emmerson can play any where near the level of Greedy or AJ Green.
And they are cornerbacks.
The Browns spend the most guaranteed money on a Qb ever, but they don't have any money to keep a cornerback that is ok (average) on an NFL level.

Just remember that AJ Green is also part of the team and saw some playing time last year.

He is developing and should not be overlooked.

Thanks. I will keep that in mind.

Just a comment on Emerson. In many of the scouting reports it said that safety would be his ideal position. Possibly that is the progression for this kid.

I look at it as we signed away one of their guys and then traded him back to them. It's not a terrible move since he's not in the future plans.

This. Emerson is pretty clearly the fifth corner. My guess is that he plays if Ward or Williams are hurt.

That's been my thinking from the beginning.

this is fun
fun stuff

Nope, we didn't just sign Ward to the highest CB contract ever. And Greedy, to me, isn't much more than average, especially given his injury history. So we should always be looking for upgrades.

I don't like this pick, seems to be a bigger guy that is too slow, elite receiving talent will torch him Maybe they thought his run stopping ability is very good? idk?

j/c:

Does anyone know off the top of their head if Emerson excelled on Special Teams in college? He looks to have the body type for it.

This site here has zero, zip, nada for special teams in his bio and career all-purpose stats.

https://hailstate.com/sports/football/roster/martin-emerson/6429

Thanks. Oh well.....

Reading the Browns take, this guy is special in coverage, could be great. Reading everything I could find originating pre draft on him and he looks like a backup at best.

57% completion as an outside corner isn't particularly good, but they did line him up off alot.
I'd be interested to see what his numbers were in more of a press-man coverage.

Browns rookie cornerback Martin Emerson brings size, physicality to the position




By Dan Labbe, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Browns rookie cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. made his presence felt early in rookie minicamp.

“Were you guys paying attention to the first drill?” head coach Kevin Stefanski asked the assembled media following practice on a muggy day. “He put one of our coaches on his butt.”

The reactions to the play echoed through the practice fields, filled with rookies this weekend -- draft picks like Emerson, undrafted free agents and tryout players.

Emerson ended up as the Browns’ first draft choice of this class, chosen No. 68 after a trade down from No. 44, a somewhat surprising selection considering cornerback wasn’t at the front of most people’s minds for the organization. Pre-draft projections had Emerson’s potential selection ranging from the third round down to the fifth.

No one, however, should be surprised the Browns were interested in a 6-foot-2, 201-pound SEC product, a 21 year old with three full seasons of college experience who struggled when asked on Friday to narrow down the list of the best receivers he went against during his Mississippi State days.

“(Jameson) Williams, Alabama; (Treylon) Burks from Arkansas; (George) Pickens from Georgia,” he said during a press conference on Friday before taking the practice field. “There’s a lot of guys, I could keep going on, really.”

Those are three receivers who were drafted this year, two in the first round and the other, in Pickens, with first-round talent but an injury history and maturity concerns that dropped him to Pittsburgh late in Round 2.

Wide receiver Michael Woods II, a sixth-round pick, has gone against Emerson, too. It happened on October 3, 2020 when Woods, then with Arkansas, faced his future teammate.

“He’s just a bigger dude. He’s long, physical,” Woods said. “I think he’ll be really good, especially against bigger receivers because he’s long and really matches up well against them.”

The length is what’s intriguing about Emerson. You can see it during a press conference or when he’s on the field running through drills. His arms measured 33 1/2 inches during the combine, same as Jets first-round pick Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner and easily at the top end of defensive backs. Good luck finding much more length than what Emerson has at corner.

“Length with corners especially, it allows you at the line of scrimmage to really deter the release of the receiver,” Stefanski said. “As receivers, they want off. They want the ability to sell the go-route and come off the ball. When you are somebody like Martin, they are going to work at the line of scrimmage versus you, but even if they gain six inches, you have maybe 33 inches to go with your length to make them get around you and get you off your precision-timing game.”

“Being a bigger guy, getting my hands on them, can help disrupt routes and disrupt timing,” Emerson said. “So it helps a lot.”

Emerson is built differently from the Browns’ top two cornerbacks. Denzel Ward measured 5-11 at his combine with 31 1/4″ arms. Greg Newsome II came in at 6-0 with 31 1/8″ arms. Greedy Williams, who Emerson will likely compete against for the third corner spot, measured 6-2 and profiles closest to Emerson, only with less freakish 31 1/2″ arms.

With Emerson’s size also comes the responsibility to play a physical style, something he isn’t afraid to do.

“Trying to be (more) physical than my opponent, just trying to make plays while I can,” he said.

One thing Emerson didn’t do much in college was intercept the ball. He had one during his entire college career as a freshman in 2019. Some of it is opportunity. He was targeted just 50 times in 2021, but he remembers the plays he could have made.

“I know there’s plays out there that I didn’t get the ball back when I should have,” he said. “So I always try to be hard on myself anyway, it’s only going to make me better.”

He said there were two he could have had last season.

“Well, three really, because I caught one but it was 12 men on the field,” he said, correcting himself. “Someone (got caught) walking off the field. Make sure I tell everybody, ‘Make sure you hustle off the field.’”

It’s unclear if Emerson will man the nickel spot vacated by the draft weekend trade of Troy Hill or if he could be the third outside cornerback, allowing Newsome to move inside when teams go to three or more wide receivers. According to data from Pro Football Focus, Newsome played 102 snaps in the slot his rookie season, including a combined 69 snaps in Weeks 17 and 18.

“I think we have multiple guys who can fill that role and have filled that role in there,” Stefanski said of the team’s plans for inside corner. “I think that is why we talk about versatility. If you are playing corner or if you are playing safety, you are going to be trained to play in the slot and play our nickel position. I think we have multiple guys who can do that.”

Where Emerson plays will be determined later. The Browns picked him because they saw the potential his size brings to an already strong secondary.