Next Men Up in Cleveland’s Secondary
The immediate plan is to promote from within. Greg Newsome, who has mostly manned the slot corner role, is sliding back to an outside boundary spot in Emerson’s absence. Newsome began his career on the outside before Emerson’s emergence pushed him inside, and he’s been vocal about his desire for another chance outside. Now he gets it by necessity, lining up opposite Pro Bowl corner Denzel Ward with the first-team defense.
That leaves Newsome’s nickel/slot role open, and the Browns are auditioning young players there. Third-year corner Cameron Mitchell has been the first up, taking Newsome’s slot snaps with the starting defense in camp. A 2023 fifth-round pick (and Newsome’s college teammate at Northwestern), Mitchell has steadily developed in Cleveland’s system.
Coaches have spent a lot of time investing in Mitchell’s development, even if they hadn’t expected to throw him into a starting job this soon. In limited action last year (371 snaps), Mitchell was the first corner off the bench and showed solid tackling and ball skills, though he had typical young-player inconsistencies in coverage.
Behind Mitchell, depth is thin and unproven, which is why the team is scrambling to identify the best internal option. Second-year corner Myles Harden is another name to watch. A seventh-round pick in 2024 out of South Dakota, Harden surprised by making the 53-man roster and even saw defensive snaps late last season.
He’s an aggressive, high-IQ defender with experience in both man and zone, and the Browns view him as a potential steal who just needs more reps. However, Harden also has some knocks to his game, as he’s coming off a shin injury that cost him much of his rookie year and lacks top-end speed and length, which could limit him against elite receivers. Still, through a week of camp, he’s getting extended looks with the second-team defense.
Another dark horse is veteran Nik Needham, whom the Browns signed in April. Needham is a six-year veteran with 27 career starts in Miami and experience playing outside, nickel, and even some safety. He missed a lot of 2022 and 2023 recovering from an Achilles tear of his own, but by all accounts, he’s fully healed now and ready to take on the challenge of a complete season in whatever role is needed.
If Schwartz decides he’d rather not disrupt two positions (outside and slot) at once, one scenario could be keeping Newsome at nickel and sliding Needham into Emerson’s outside spot. That continuity in the slot might appeal to Schwartz, but it would require a lot of trust in Needham or Harden to hold up outside. So far, the team appears to be giving Mitchell first crack inside and moving Newsome out, but these configurations could evolve over the next few weeks of camp.