Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah a non-first rounder set to make quick impact

Hall of Fame NFL executive and NFL.com senior analyst Gil Brandt listed the Cleveland Browns’ Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah as a non-first-round rookie that could have a breakout season in 2021. In his rankings of 11 players, Owusu-Koramoah came in at No. 3.

“Owusu-Koramoah profiles as a hybrid linebacker/safety type who can contribute in a variety of ways,” Brandt said. “He made up for the time he missed on the COVID-19 list, showed off his ability to blitz, cover and tackle in the Browns’ preseason opener against the Jaguars, finishing with a team-high eight tackles (including three tackles for loss) and a sack.” 

Owusu-Koramoah was a near surefire first-round selection before rumors of a heart condition emerged just before the draft. There was never a diagnosis made, and Owusu-Koramoah said there is no issue.

“There was something that came up in terms of what guys were saying,” Owusu-Koramoah said in May. “But in terms of me, in terms of my personal aspect, there were really no heart issues at all. There was nothing that was ticked off.”

As Brandt said, the 6-foot-1, 215-pound player can line up both at the line of scrimmage and in the slot and played both linebacker and safety in high school before moving to the rover position at Notre Dame. He has the pass rushing abilities of a traditional linebacker, and his explosive speed allows him to cross the field quickly.

Owusu-Koramoah had a monster year for Notre Dame last season

The former three-star recruit was a unanimous All-American and won the Butkus Award given to the nation’s top linebacker last season. In Notre Dame’s lone year in the ACC, Owusu-Koramoah won ACC Defensive Player of the Year.

Over 25 games in an Irish uniform, he recorded 142 total tackles, with 96 solo tackles. He had six nine-tackle games and 24.5 of the total tackles for loss over his career. He also tallied seven sacks, forced five fumbles and four fumble recoveries. His 62 tackles last season ranked him second on an Irish team that led the ACC in scoring defense. 

Owusu-Koramoah hits so hard that The Athletic’s Pete Sampson wrote a piece on the physics behind it.

The Browns defense is one of the nation’s most complete units

Last season, the Browns allowed 358.4 yards per game, which was 17th in the NFL. The 26.2 points per game they allowed was 21st in the league. 

Cleveland made massive additions to the defensive side of the ball this offseason to combat last year’s defensive inconsistencies. In addition to taking Owusu-Koramoah in the second round, the Browns used their first-round selection on Northwestern cornerback Greg Newsome II. They added Jadeveon Clowney, Troy Hill, Anthony Walker Jr. and John Johnson III as well.

They should be one of the better defenses in the country this year, setting Cleveland up to potentially make a deep playoff run.