The Big Picture: Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty for the Cleveland Browns at Cornerback?

When the Browns drafted MJ Emerson in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft and then traded away Troy Hill the next day, it signaled a shift in their approach to the nickel cornerback position in their defense. The Browns moved from having two clear starters at outside cornerbacks and a true nickelback to having three starting caliber players at outside cornerback and no natural nickel cornerback on the roster. There was an expectation from the outside that the Browns may rectify that situation in the offseason, perhaps by signing a nickel cornerback and further augmenting their depth in the secondary.

The team didn't make a significant move at cornerback, adding special teams ace Mike Ford in free agency and drafting Greg Newsome's Northwestern teammate Cameron Mitchell in the fifth round. When the coaches and players have spoken about the situation this offseason, there has been some indication that both Newsome and Ward, depending on matchups, will work in the slot. There's also the possibility that, much like last year, the Browns use three safeties and mix Grant Delpit and Rodney McLeod into their slot coverage looks. Regardless of the specific approach, it's clear that the Browns plan to continue to mix and match slot coverage responsibilities rather than designating a slot defender, as teams traditionally do.

As referenced in the title, this is a glass-half-full or half-empty situation for the Browns. Is it better to have three talented outside cornerbacks that allow a defensive coordinator to mix and match on a weekly basis or is it preferable to have clearly defined roles that would enable individual players to specialize and play to their strengths? The 2023 season will provide another data point for this argument, but the bottom line is that the Browns need their talented secondary to produce. Part of that is how the players and deployed and part of that is the players excelling in several areas to allow the Browns' defense to be multiple and unpredictable in their alignments.

There's another benefit to the Browns' situation and that is the depth they have at outside cornerback. Ward, Newsome, and Emerson have all proven they can play outside at a high level and A.J. Green has been a valuable contributor at times as well. Most teams are envious of the Browns' depth at cornerback and that gives the team good cover in case of injuries at the position. Denzel Ward specifically has struggled to stay on the field. Having Newsome and Emerson ready to step in if Ward were to go down for a few games is certainly a luxury for the Browns that most other teams in the NFL simply don't have.

***

The ideal scenario for the Browns is that Ward, Newsome, Delpit, and McLeod are able to play effectively out of the slot depending on the matchup. When the Browns travel to LA to play the Rams, they'll want Ward in the slot covering Cooper Kupp. If the Browns were to meet the Chiefs in the playoffs, maybe they would even want Emerson in the slot on Kelce to match up with his physicality and size. Perhaps there's even a scenario where Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah begins to show his collegiate versatility and spends some time in the slot. There's certainly an argument that versatility allows the Browns to dictate to offenses by putting a wide range of defenders into the slot and forcing offenses to be predictable by limiting their alignments.

The flip side, of course, is an old saying; "Jack of all trades, master of none." The downside for the Browns' defense is that Ward and Newsome both continue to struggle to look comfortable in the slot and the safeties aren't able to rotate in as much due to their other responsibilities in the defense, leaving the Browns without a true nickelback and susceptible to teams with proficient slot receivers or wide running games that can attack the slot defender directly in the run game. In that scenario, the Browns will be forced to make a choice at cornerback after the season and move on from one of their outside cornerbacks to pursue an accomplished slot defender.

The Browns are rightfully confident that an experienced defensive coordinator like Jim Schwartz should be able to bend the outcome in 2023 more towards the positive scenario than the negative but questions will linger about how to see the Browns cornerback situation. Is the room full of talented players or missing the right ingredients?