Grading the Cleveland Browns draft class for 2022

Round 3, Pick 68 – CB Martin Emerson (Mississippi State)

I didn’t like the pick then, I don’t like the pick now. You can say “see, they traded Troy Hill, they NEEDED another corner” all you want, but 1) they didn’t need to trade Hill in the first place, and 2) they needed a number two receiver more than they needed a fourth or fifth cornerback. They didn’t need to take one in the third and they damn sure didn’t need to trade out of the second round to get a corner, who would’ve still been there in the fourth.

Not all talent in the NFL Draft is the same talent. Guys taken in the first two rounds are usually much better than those taken in the fourth and later. Trading out of the second to get fourth-round picks isn’t “getting value”, as these players aren’t all guaranteed to be good. The higher the pick, the better chance you get of getting someone worth having. Those fourth, fifth, and seventh-round picks they were so eager to get are only great if you’re able to get gems with them. So far, that’s not Andrew Berry’s forte.

In a bubble, is Martin Emerson a fine pick? Sure, he’s a C+ pick at a position the Browns did not need. They needed a defensive tackle, defensive end, and receiver. Not in that order. And yes, I’m aware that they got all of those three eventually. The problem is, they passed up on potentially better talent available in the second round, to address those needs nearly a round+ later.

So we’ll give Emerson a C+, but we’re giving the trade that permeated him being the first pick of 2022 an F.

Grade: C+