Now that they hired Kevin Stefanski to be their head coach, the Atlanta Falcons have preached continuity. The Falcons hired several assistant coaches Stefanski worked with with the Cleveland Browns to their new staff, and have even brought in a few players he used to coach in free agency.
But instead of having one former Stefanski draft pick in the building, the Falcons will face him twice a year in 2026. According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, former Browns' cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. is signing with the New Orleans Saints after visiting the team facility yesterday afternoon.
Atlanta could have looked to sign Emerson themselves, but felt comfortable allowing him to sign with a division rival. The potential reason for this? The 25-year-old missed all of 2025 due to a torn Achilles suffered during training camp last summer, but is apparently at a good point in his recovery process.
Saints are signing former Kevin Stefanski draft pick Martin Emerson Jr.
Stefanski and the Browns drafted Emerson in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, where he appeared in 50 of 51 possible games across the first three seasons of his career, including all 17 games in both 2022 and 2024 before this Achilles injury took away his contract year in 2025.
The Mississippi State product logged 15 pass breakups as a rookie and followed that up with a 14-PBU, four-interception season in 2023. However, Emerson took a step back before the injury, as in 2024, he recorded a measly five passes defensed while his 47.9 PFF grade ranked 194th among CBs.
The Saints lost Alontae Taylor in free agency, so odds are they are going to use Emerson as a depth cornerback with the versatility to play both on the boundary in the nickel. But since New Orleans has Kool-Aid McKinstry and Quincy Riley on the outside, he'd be a better fit replacing Taylor in the nickel.
His clear drop-off in production isn't the only reason the Dirty Birds felt okay not signing him. Instead, second-round rookie Avieon Terrell will play the role as Atlanta's long-term CB2. And even if you take away the family connection, he's a first-round talent who would be a clear upgrade over Emerson.
Emerson has some good years under his belt, but those were forever ago in NFL land. However, he's aware of the scheme Stefanski ran with Cleveland and will run with the Falcons. So, I get the Saints trying to pull one over on their archrival by trying to see if they can squeeze any potential out of him.
Hopefully he won't make the Saints look smart or make Stefanski look foolish for not wanting to reunite with him given how his other Browns' connections haunted him.
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