The Cleveland Browns have a cornerback problem in the worst way possible. They have two corners that are underachieving and playing in the final year’s of their respective contracts. The Browns probably should have looked to move one of them, yet they opted to retain them both.
Martin Emerson Jr. is the one player that probably should have been traded this offseason. The only problem is his trade value is so low, the Browns probably couldn’t find a team desperate enough to retain him. That’s not a good thing if you’re the Browns.
The secondary has struggled tremendously and Cleveland opted to stand pat and not make any moves in the draft or offseason. Retaining this secondary is a sign the Browns either have something up their sleeves with five rosters quarterbacks – four of them active and healthy – or are hoping coaching can get the best out of them.
Martin Emerson has a year to prove why the Cleveland Browns shouldn’t jettison him next offseason
Don’t look at the numbers if you’re an Emerson supporter. Sure he was a third-round pick so the fact that his first two seasons were productive, that shouldn’t overshadow how horrible the 2024 season, right? Wrong. When you surpass expectations, the idea is that you not just live up to them, but continue to exceed them.
In 2024, he was rated one of the worst cornerbacks in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus. He was graded 48.4 in coverage, which was 187th out of 222 corners; he had a 47.9 overall grade, which was 194th out of 222.
As if it couldn’t get any worse, he didn’t have any interceptions and allowed 52 receptions, ranked 22nd among corners, had just two pass break-ups, ranked 101th and allowed a 108.7 passer rating, ranked 52nd.
Cleveland didn’t deal him, not because they didn’t want to, but because not a single team would want that on their roster. That’s not even worth a seventh-round pick. Emerson is lucky the Browns don’t cut him altogether. Be that as it may, the fact that he’s still here means they see some value in him.
The 2025 season, he better play like a No. 2 corner on the team and not like a third-round pick. The silver lining is maybe that’s why Cleveland wasn’t ready to give up on him yet, they think he just might have a turnaround season in him.