3 Cleveland Browns that could have breakout seasons in 2023

Browns breakout player No. 2: Martin Emerson, CB

In last year's NFL Draft, the Browns surprised some when they drafted cornerback Martin Emerson Jr, from Mississippi State, with overall pick No. 68. The team had drafted Greg Newsome, a cornerback from Northwestern the year before.

Emerson made an immediate impact and finished the season starting six games. He tallied 63 tackles and had an impressive 15 pass deflections as well. He was touted as having a knack for finding the ball on defense. He did that a lot last season and was an excellent tackler for a secondary player as well.

Now Emerson will step into season number two and has already been getting a lot of preseason hype. Pro Football Network recently ranked Emerson as the 25th-best cornerback in the league. That was ahead of the team's veteran cornerback Denzel Ward, who came in at No. 29. Newsome wasn't even ranked.

In a recent article by Pro Football Focus, they gave Emerson their nod as the Browns "breakout" player in 2023. PFF gave the Cleveland cornerback a score of 72.5 which put him as the 23rd-best cornerback in the league last season.

With the Browns bringing in new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, it'll give Emerson more opportunity this season to improve even more and I suspect, we will hear his name called a lot this year and could be a big reason the Browns return to the playoffs.