Martin Emerson Jr. wants to continue silencing doubters, channeling an 'ultimate competitor'
Day 2 draft picks typically don't have an instant impact. And then there is Cleveland Browns cornerback Martin Emerson Jr., who played in 72 percent of the team's defensive snaps last season and enjoyed the lowest completion percentage allowed in coverage compared to all Browns cornerbacks with only 50.1 percent. To add, he was in the same conversation […]
Day 2 draft picks typically don't have an instant impact.
And then there is Cleveland Browns cornerback Martin Emerson Jr., who played in 72 percent of the team's defensive snaps last season and enjoyed the lowest completion percentage allowed in coverage compared to all Browns cornerbacks with only 50.1 percent. To add, he was in the same conversation as Denzel Ward with 15 passes defended, making his impact on the field something the Cleveland Browns are sure to need in 2023.
Emerson knows that too. So, in the offseason, he set some tangible goals, with which he wants to see himself hit this season.
"This offseason, I made a lot of goals for the team, but also for myself, and I was just working towards those goals," Emerson said. "I see a lot of improvement, but there's still a lot of improvements to get done."
For a cornerback, Emerson is physically imposing. He will have ample opportunity in 2023 to use his size at the line of scrimmage to try and jam opposing receivers — something the Browns will undoubtedly need moving forward.
"I enjoy one-on-one matchups because it's just the coaches and your team," Emerson said. "They're trusting you to eliminate this guy. So that's what we live on. Cornerbacks — we want to eliminate our man and play fast. So, I love playing man-to-man. It's just me and you, and may the best man win."
Also making the 2023 season important for Emerson is not hitting a second-year wall. It is easy to rely on the success of a rookie campaign to define much of what feels feasible in 2023. That isn't the case for the talented second-year player. He wants everyone to know that he is still just getting started.
"I'm a competitor, the ultimate competitor," he said. "I just want to do my part to help the team win, so doing my job is the main goal. I love when the quarterbacks target me."
The Browns' secondary is clearly in some sure hands.
Grant Delpit on needing a contract extension: ‘That’s not on my mind’
Safety Grant Delpit isn’t thinking about money.
Feature image via Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports.
