Cleveland's Cornerbacks Have Been Historic

Cleveland's injury issues this season have been well-documented. The plague has run through the offense and finally made its way to the defensive side of the ball in the past couple of weeks.

One room that has been relatively unscathed has been the cornerback room. Admittedly, "unscathed" is relative since our best cornerback Denzel Ward has missed four games and was about 70 percent healthy on Sunday against the Bears.

Unlike years past when Ward was down, there was not much behind him to pick up the slack. That's not the case anymore. The room of Ward, Greg Newsome, Martin Emerson, Cam Mitchell, and Mike Ford are one of the main reasons this team is on the cus of the playoffs.

Talking specifically about the top three guys, they have been more than good, they have been elite. According to NFL's NextGen Stats, Ward, Newsome, and Emerson have three of the top five rankings of Coverage Success Rates.

Martin Emerson, Greg Newsome & Denzel Ward all rank among the top four cornerbacks in coverage success rate this season (min. 40 targets).

Opponents have lost a league-low -157.0 EPA on pass plays against the Browns, 3rd-lowest by a defense in a season since 2016.#DawgPound pic.twitter.com/gCqf4HEGsl
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) December 19, 2023

Emerson leads the league with a 67 percent coverage success rate while Ward and Newsome are tied for second with a 66.7 percent success rate.

Furthermore, opponents have a -157 Expected Points Added (EPA) on pass plays against the Browns. That stat is the third lowest by any defense since 2016.

In layman's terms, this Cleveland secondary is historic.

They are going to need to continue their incredible play if this team wants to get into the playoffs and make a run. The three teams that stand in their way of the playoffs are Houston, New York, and Cincinnati.

Each game presents a unique set of challenges but this trio has proven that it doesn't matter who is on the other side, they are going to lock them up.