BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Browns started their 2022 NFL Draft with a pair of defensive selections before finally taking a receiver.
In the third round Friday night the team selected Mississippi State cornerback Martin Emerson 68th overall, UAB defensive end Alex Wright 78th overall and with the 99th pick Purdue receiver David Bell.
They’ll enter the third and final day of the draft with six picks.
The selection of Emerson was a surprise considering they just gave Denzel Ward, picked fourth overall in 2018, a $100 million extension. Cleveland drafted Greg Newsome II 26th overall last year and they have 2019 second round pick Greedy Williams as well.
“That is a position group there to some degree they are like racecars,” Browns executive vice president of football operations Andrew Berry said. “When you have good ones, you really feel it in a positive way, and if you are banged up or you do not have depth there – we felt that a number of times before where you really are holding your breath from play to play. Martin is a young, long corner who can press and play off. We were excited to get him there at No. 68.”
Emerson was given a fifth-round grade by The Athletic’s NFL Draft analyst Dane Brugler but Emerson said that his agent told him he would likely be a second or third-round pick.
“Press, playing off, zone, blitzing or whatever. Just being versatile,” Emerson said when asked about his strengths and weaknesses. “I feel like I can bring that to this team. What I need to work on, I feel like it is getting more turnovers. That is going to be a goal of mine is getting turnovers for the team and helping us win.”
Emerson started 28 of 36 games where he totaled 154 tackles – six for loss, an interception and forced fumble with 16 passes defensed. Last season he was targeted just 50 times – or 13.3% of snaps and he allowed one or fewer receptions in six games.
The Browns proved there’s no such thing as too many good corners.
“You have a good football player in Martin right there on the board,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “He is a valuable player to what we do in trying to defend the pass. Just felt like it made our team better, but I would say it was organizationally, we value those players.”
Wright, who was given a solid third-round grade by Brugler, started 18 of 35 games he appeared in over three seasons for UAB where he totaled 91 tackles – 19 for a loss, 12 ½ sacks, three forced fumbles and five passes defended.
“We like him because he is a player who profiles as what we call a big end or a strong-side end, but with Alex, he really has the versatility to rush outside and inside,” Berry said. “We love his frame. We love his ability to rush the passer. This is a guy who when we brought him in for a 30 visit, everybody just spoke glowingly. He is very driven, he is very smart and a very humble individual, and we think he is a player who can really grow into the ideal big end for us and rush inside and out. We are excited to have him. He is a perfect scheme fit for our defense.”
The Bell selection was a compensatory pick for the Vikings hiring former vice president of football operations Kwesi Adofo Mensah as their general manager.
In three seasons for Purdue, Bell caught 232 passes for 2,935 yards and 21 touchdowns. According to Brugler, Bell only dropped 11 passes while averaging 12.7 yards per reception.
“We thought he had some of the best hands in this draft class,” Berry said. “He is also very savvy as a route runner, just very nuanced and polished and has the ability to separate. We think he is a guy who can really play both outside and inside, but we think that he can really make a living with his size, his savvy and his hands in the slot.”
Ohio State receivers coach and former Browns receiver Brian Hartline tweeted an endorsement of Bell prior to Cleveland selecting him. "If I need a WR, I’m really considering moving up to get @DB3LL" Hartline posted.
“He recruited me when I was at Ohio State, and we just have that mutual respect for each other, even when I decided not to go to Ohio State,” Bell said. “I personally called him and told him that I would be going to a different university, and he was just glad that I was a man at such a young age being able to call him and tell him that I went with a different decision. Definitely hats off to him. I appreciate him for shooting out that tweet. Much love.”
Cleveland began the night by trading out of the second round when they sent the 44th overall pick to Houston for the 68th, 108th and 124th picks in the draft.
