Browns Week 5 studs and duds: Heroes become zeros edition

Stud: Martin Emerson, CB

While one rookie blew the chance at a win, another was one of the players who got them that opportunity. Martin Emerson played tough all day but had a breakup on fourth-and0short that gave Cleveland the chance to win the game. Had York converted, he would have been praised. But since the kick went wide, this play will be mainly forgotten.

Even with the frustrating outcome, Emerson has already shown plenty of promise in his rookie season. On a year where Cleveland didn’t make a selection in the draft until Round 3, they still found a potential playmaker with that pick as Andrew Berry continues to be a monster in the NFL Draft.

Dud: Grant Delpit, S

After Cleveland went up 14-0, the defense gave up a huge 71-yard run to Austin Ekeler. Greg Newsome was great in chasing him down, otherwise, it would have been a touchdown for Ekeler.

The main reason Ekeler had so much room was the angle taken by Grant Delpit. As he came toward the line of scrimmage, he moved slowly to his right, allowing Ekeler to cut to the opposite side and rip off a huge gain.

This was the second error in as many drives for Delpit. On the Chargers’ first possession, he was flagged for a late hit on Justin Herbert who was sliding. It wasn’t a dirty play but when a quarterback is clearly giving himself up, the player cannot slide into them at all, which is what Delpit did.

So far in 2022, Delpit has been an issue for the Browns which is frustrating considering how high the hopes were for him in his third season.