<![CDATA[Cornerback Review from the Browns Website]]>

The Browns are about a week away from the start of the 2025 training camp. To prepare for training camp, associate editor Kelsey Russo is putting together a preview for each position on the roster. Catch up on other position previews on the quarterbacks, defensive line, offensive line, linebackers and wide receivers. Next up, let's look at the cornerbacks.

The Corners:

Chigozie Anusiem
Tony Brown II
Martin Emerson Jr.
Myles Harden
LaMareon Hames
Dom Jones
Anthony Kendall
Cameron Mitchell
Greg Newsome II
Denzel Ward

What we know: The Browns are returning their core unit of cornerbacks, led by Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome II and Martin Emerson Jr., with depth in younger players Cameron Mitchell and Myles Harden. They also brought back a veteran in Tony Brown II – who played the 2024 season in Cleveland – to provide veteran leadership in the room alongside Ward.

Ward is entering is eighth season with the Browns and is looking to build off one of his best NFL seasons in 2024 – one in which he led the NFL with 19 passes defensed and set a career high. He also received his fourth career Pro Bowl in 2024. Newsome is coming off a 2024 season in which he recorded five passes defensed and 27 tackles, while Emerson also contributed five passes defensed and 80 tackles. Entering his third season with the Browns, Mitchell – who totaled 24 tackles and two passes defensed in 17 games – can increase his role as he continues to establish himself in the attack-minded defense.

The biggest question: How do the cornerbacks turn pass breakups into interceptions during the 2025 season? The cornerback room combined for 31 pass deflections in the 2024 season. However, the defense only pulled off four picks, aided by one from LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and the other three from the cornerbacks. Both defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and cornerbacks coach Brandon Lynch have emphasized takeaways this offseason, with corners taking extra reps on the JUGS machine before or after practice.

"We want to attack first…[and] make sure that we're forcing errors," Lynch said following a 2025 minicamp practice. "But we're forcing errors because we're communicating and executing."

He added that an increased consistency in the standard this group is holding themselves to has made a significant difference so far this offseason. Ward, who led the team in interceptions last year, credited a shift in mindset towards getting two hands on the ball rather than just knocking it away as a big factor in the way he's approaching his training.

"PBUs are good, but those interceptions help change the game tremendously," Ward said. "(But) being able to take that ball away would help us even more."

The biggest number: 4. As a team, the Browns had just four interceptions during the 2024 season – two of which came from Ward and another by Newsome. Schwartz has stressed the importance of creating turnovers, such as interceptions, to get opposing offenses off the field. The cornerbacks can play a significant role in that number as they match up against opposing wide receivers and pass catchers.

The X-Factor: Emerson. Both Ward and Newsome have established their roles in the defensive scheme, but as Emerson enters his fourth season, he'll continue to have an increased impact on the success of the secondary. Emerson started 15 of 17 games in 2024 and played an important role on the opposite side of the field from Ward. In his three seasons, Emerson has totaled 158 tackles, 34 passes defensed, one sack, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and four interceptions. Lynch has watched Emerson's mindset shift towards continuing to build consistency, using the offseason to his advantage to embody the details and mindset of the unit.

"He's another player when we say 'good, better, best' – he was good, he's getting better and now he's en route to putting his best stuff on tape," Lynch said.

Says it all: "The first thing is to leverage our engine. We always talk about rush and coverage working together, so us getting and staying tight. And then being the tip of the spear for our nerve center. Being somebody that our linebackers and safeties can really rely on when we communicate." – Brandon Lynch on the cornerbacks' roles in third-down situations

How many were kept on the initial 53-man roster in 2024: 6

Led by Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome II, the cornerbacks are embodying an attack-first mindset