The Cleveland Browns seemed to knock it out of the park in the 2021 NFL draft with CB Greg Newsome II and LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. Newsome gets a lot of attention as Denzel Ward’s bookend with the thought that he could see the Pro Bowl for the first time in his second year in the league.
Owusu-Koramoah is just as exciting of a prospect for the Browns. A player that was potentially the team’s selection in the first round, “JOK” fell to them in the second round and gave the team a one-two punch of defenders in one draft.
The Notre Dame product played in 14 games last year, starting 10. He had 76 tackles, four passes defended, four quarterback hits, three tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. That well-rounded box score came after missing time early due to COVID-19 restrictions and missing time later due to a freak weight room accident.
As our Touchdown Wire site is doing, we discussed John Johnson III falling out of their safety rankings here, ESPN is currently running their lists of top players at each position. While Anthony Walker Jr. and Owusu-Koramoah didn’t make their top 10 list (insider, $), Cleveland’s second-year man did get noted in the honorable mention section:
The rookie had a strong season with 57 tackles, two forced fumbles and a 76.5 Pro Football Focus grade. “I really liked what I saw when I studied him,” an AFC personnel director said. “He’ll be a top-10 linebacker by the end of next year.”
With Myles Garrett, JOK, Ward, Newsome and Johnson, the Browns have elite talent at all levels of their defense. Most of it, like Owusu-Koramoah, is young and still developing.
The 2021 Browns draft could be a defining time for the team’s defense for years to come.