Cornerback Martin Emerson Signs With Saints: Is He Alontae Taylor’s Replacement?

The New Orleans Saints have taken a whole lot of gambles over the course of the past five days – some of them huge in the case of taking oft-injured wide receiver Jordyn Tyson with the eighth overall pick of last week’s NFL Draft – and some of them low-risk, high-reward in the trade of a fifth-round pick for edge rusher Tyree Wilson.

On Tuesday (April 28), they added to their list when they signed cornerback Martin Emerson from the Cleveland Browns. The 6-foot-2, 201-pound former third-round pick has played in 50 NFL games over three seasons, starting 33 of them, but he missed all of last year after suffering a torn Achilles’ tendon in training camp.

Financial details were not immediately released.

While with the Browns, the team ranked in the top 12 against the pass in the three seasons he played, and they were No. 1 overall in 2023.

Time will tell if Emerson becomes a starter for the Saints, who clearly need help at the position following the loss of Alontae Taylor last month in free agency to the Tennessee Titans and a lack of depth in the defensive backfield. The team didn’t do much to address the position in the draft – taking Lorenzo Styles in the fifth round, although Styles is seen as more of a special teams candidate.

They also grabbed Iowa’s TJ Hall in the seventh round, but the Saints haven’t had a pick start more than two games in their rookie season since Marques Colston started 12 of 14 games he played in the 2006 season.

Emerson had other options

It didn’t take long for Emerson to decide to come to New Orleans. Just a few hours after it was reported by multiple media outlets he was visiting, the Saints announced he had signed the former Mississippi State Bulldog.

The #Saints are, in fact, signing Martin Emerson. An intriguing new CB. https://t.co/jaIBQRjo5u
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 28, 2026

One of his options was going back to Cleveland, especially with the fact the team did not draft any defensive backs with its 10 picks. It also was reported by Texans Wire Emerson visited Houston, where he more likely would have served as a backup.

In New Orleans, he certainly will have a chance to start. Kool-Aid McKinstry, who was the team’s second-round pick in 2024, is a near lock in one spot, and one would think Quincy Riley, who started five games last year as a rookie, is the next best option.

Beyond that, besides Emerson, the other legitimate options include Isaac Yiadom (34 career starts in eight seasons) and Rejzohn Wright, who played four games last year after spending 2024 on IR.

Theoretically, one of the young safeties could play corner (Jonas Sanker?), but it seems unlikely. Safety Julian Blackmon also will be returning from injury, and he has played plenty in the slot.

Martin Emerson is leaving Cleveland to play for the New Orleans Saints. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Had 4 interceptions in 2023

During that season of 2023 in which the Browns were the top pass defense in the NFL, Emerson was a key contributor. Along with his 59 tackles and 14 passes defensed, he intercepted four passes.

However, he took a step back in 2024. While starting 15 of the team’s 17 games, his passes defensed dropped to five. He did increase his tackle total to 80 and played in 77 percent of the Browns’ defensive snaps.

Emerson was the fourth pick of the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft and was the 10th cornerback selected. He was taken 19 spots after the Saints took Taylor.

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