In 2022, the Cleveland Browns thought they had found a diamond in the rough in the NFL Draft.
They took CB Martin Emerson Jr. out of Mississippi State with the No. 68 selection in the third round.
It didn’t take long before he made a name for himself in the Browns’ secondary defense.
He looked like a potential lockdown cornerback in the making.
Unfortunately, that success was short-lived.
He’s been progressively less efficient with every season and it seems like it’s time to move on from him.
At least, that’s how Bradley Locker of PFF feels.
In his latest column, he chose Emerson as one of the top 15 trade candidates ahead of the offseason, talking about his regression and contract situation:
“In his third year as a pro, Emerson has continued to regress, recording a career-low 48.4 PFF coverage grade in addition to a 62.7% catch rate allowed and a 108.7 passer rating allowed when targeted. Indeed, that coverage grade is the 11th-worst mark among 127 qualified cornerbacks,” Locker said.
Emerson is still young, and he did show some flashes of talent in the past, so some teams might be tempted to believe that he just needs a change of scenery or a different scheme to be back to his best.
That could end up being the case.
Even so, the Browns need to bolster their secondary, and they could be better off focusing their efforts on another player.
Emerson will soon be eligible to sign an extension, and given his performance, there’s no reason to believe the team would be interested in doing so.
Perhaps they won’t be able to get another third-round draft pick in return for his services.
However, they should at least consider fielding calls for him.
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