Cleveland Browns score low grade on Martin Emerson pick at 68

The Cleveland Browns first pick in the NFL Draft was cornerback Martin Emerson from Mississippi State. It wasn’t a pick of need and was disappointing

Waiting for the Cleveland Browns to make a selection in this NFL draft isn’t something fans of the team are used to. They owned the 44th pick in the second round to start their draft selections this year. In the first round of the draft that’s being held in Las Vegas, there were nine trades so the action was fast and furious.

The Browns had an opportunity to move into the first round last night and tonight in the early stages of the second round. There were several trades early in the second round as well. But the Browns stayed put. When their pick at No. 44 arrived they traded that pick to the Houston Texans for picks 68, 110, and 124.

Finally, pick 68 came up and the Browns strangely took a cornerback named Martin Emerson out of Mississippi State with their first pick of the draft. It’s bizarre because the Browns have two starting cornerbacks in Greg Newsome II and Denzel Ward who recently signed a huge new contract with the team. With other veterans like Toy Hill and Greedy Williams, it’s hard to imagine Emerson seeing the field much at first.

Considering the Browns have several more pressing needs at defensive end, wide receiver, and offensive linemen it was a bad first pick by the Browns and General Manager Andrew Berry and simply mind-boggling.

The team left a ton of excellent college prospects on the board that could have helped with their more pressing needs. Defensive ends Cameron Thomas, out of San Diego State, and Kingsley Enagbare, out of South Carolina were a couple of players that could have helped the Browns more immediately.

Local product from Canton McKinley High School and then Miami (OH) and edge rusher Dominique Robinson was still on the board too.

Several wide receivers were still on the board too when the Browns took Emerson at pick No.68 including Jalen Tolbert out of South Alabama. Then to add salt to the wound, Travis Jones, a defensive tackle from UConn, was there but passed on and then the division rival Baltimore Ravens took him at pick No. 76.

It was not the best way to start a draft for Cleveland and with this first pick, it was simply a pick not needed. I won’t give it an F because Emerson is a talented player and had a nice career at Mississippi State.

He finished with 152 tackles in his career. He broke up 15 passes, and had one interception and one forced fumble. He stands at 6’2 and has very long arms. So those are nice stats and he has good size but taking him at pick 68 was the wrong spot. The Browns could have selected him in the fourth round they wanted to as he hasn’t been ranked as a top 25 cornerback in any recent college prospect rankings.

It wasn’t the start that most fans had hoped for. Hopefully, the rest of the selections are graded a bit higher for the team.