'We getting somewhere now': Browns cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. finds footing in 3rd year
BEREA — Martin Emerson Jr. arrived at Mississippi State in 2019. By that time, Nathaniel Watson had already spent one season in Starkville being redshirted.
The roles, though, have been reversed as Watson, a linebacker, arrives in Cleveland as a sixth-round draft pick of the Browns. This time, he's the new kid in town while Emerson, a cornerback, is the one who has put down some roots having been here since being taken in the third round in the 2022 draft.
"We were close," Watson said during the Browns' rookie minicamp earlier this month. "We hung out outside of football and then on the field I was their leader, so they had it listen to me. But now I got to look up to him since he the old head."
The last couple of weeks, the two former Bulldogs have managed to reunite during the Browns' voluntary offseason program. That includes actual on-field work together as the second week of OTAs gets underway on Tuesday.
That's been enough time for Emerson, the "old head," to pass on some knowledge to Watson. One of the biggest pieces of knowledge is about what it's like to be a rookie.
"Honestly, I'm excited to have him," Emerson told the Beacon Journal after last Wednesday's OTA session. "But when it comes to the NFL, I feel like as a rookie you might come in and just play your part, play your role, and you actually got to gain confidence and you got to gain respect from the coaches, the teammates and everything. So you just got to start fresh.
"But for me, I would just tell him just be the same boy that got you here and just be that same leader and just show 'em by example."
That's a stage Emerson has already progressed through. However, it wasn't so long ago that the transition doesn't still resonate for the 23-year-old.
Nor does the uncertainty Emerson went through as he passed through that stage. It's why he acknowledged finding that point for him is as simple as it may seem.
"I mean, it is kind of tough," Emerson said. "You never really truly know, honestly. But, I mean, when you going into certain game plans and stuff."
The moment, though, crystalized for Emerson five games into his rookie season. The Browns were playing host to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 5 of the 2022 season, and they found themselves in a 30-28 deficit with 1:14 remaining.
The Chargers had a fourth-and-1 from their own 46 and elected to go for the jugular and put the game away. Emerson was matched up on Mike Williams in the slot, and it was Williams to whom Justin Herbert threw the football.
It was Emerson, though, who made sure Williams didn't catch the ball.
"That was a big moment for me," Emerson said. "I was, like, OK, the whole game, I was begging to hold Mike. I'm, like, 'Y'all guys drafted me. I'm a huge corner, he's is a bigger receiver. Put me on him, please.' And I was begging, and they finally put me on him and I held my own and I was, like, 'OK, OK. We getting somewhere now.'"
As Emerson prepares for his third season with the Browns, he certainly is getting somewhere. Specifically, the 6-foot-2, 210-pound cornerback is finally getting recognition for being one of the better ones in the league when it comes to press coverage.
USA Today Network's Doug Farrar recently ranked Emerson as the No. 3 press cornerback in the league. The statistics cited back up that case, with only eight catches on 26 targets for 4.2 yards per catch, three plays of 20 or more yards and no touchdowns on 139 press-coverage snaps.
Over 943 defensive snaps last season, opposing quarterbacks had a 53.3 passer rating against Emerson. That's down from a rating of 85.6 on just over 780 defensive snaps as a rookie.
"Understand, I'm 6-2," Emerson said. "A lot of receivers are my height or maybe a little shorter than my arm length. They got to get around me. So I love the pressure, getting in guys' face. Receivers, I would like to say they don't like to get physical too often. They like to run routes on air, so when you get up, you got to contest a guy. That's what I do best, and I thrive at that."
Emerson, who has four career interceptions, has combined with three-time Pro Bowler Denzel Ward and fourth-year pro Greg Newsome II to give the Browns one of the league's best cornerback trios. His own growth as a player has played a big role in the way the group has been viewed.
That personal growth starts with Emerson's development in press coverage. That goes back to his time at Mississippi State.
"Honestly, in college, I didn't play press corner as much," Emerson said. "We played a lot of zone, and coming into the league, a lot of people was, like, 'Oh, he's a zone corner. Oh, he can't play man, he can't press. Long speed might not be as good.' I just block everything out and I just worked towards my game and I just work on everything."
That's another lesson Emerson could pass along to Watson, his former-turned-current teammate.
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Martin Emerson Jr. coming into his own with Browns in 3rd year
