Loving it as Browns trade up for Notre Dame’s Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah – Terry Pluto

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Yes, I love how the Browns traded up in the second round.

It’s not an after-the-fact opinion. On April 18, I wrote about how the Browns were moving from free agency into the draft. Online, I ran a picture of a certain Notre Dame player.

“Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah would look good in an orange helmet,” is the caption I wrote under the picture.

This is not an “I told you so” story. Rather, it explains why I am gushing about the 6-foot-1, 215-pound senior who won the Butkus Award this season as the top college linebacker. He also was an unanimous All-American. This guy should have been a first-rounder. Had the Browns taken him instead of Northwestern cornerback Greg Newsome II at No. 26, that would have been fine with me.

I also liked Newsome for the Browns.

But my sense is Owusu-Koramoah (JOK) can be something special. He is not the “traditional” linebacker. He’s more of a safety. He’s fast. He makes big plays. You remember how defensive coordinator Joe Woods loves safeties? And how Woods loves guys “who play with their hair on fire”?

That’s JOK, who also plays with his feet flying.

So why did he drop to the second round? It’s because he’s a strange linebacker for those who want a traditional bruiser at the position. JOK is listed at 215 pounds, light for linebacker – but right for a safety. Some teams believed he didn’t fit into their schemes.

The Browns believe many typical linebackers don’t work in Woods’ scheme. JOK should be weapon in his offense.

GM Andrew Berry went into the draft looking for speed. He signed veteran free agent Anthony Walker in March, calling the former Colt “one of the fastest linebackers in the NFL.” JOK could be another of those. Profootballfocus rated him the No. 2 linebacker: “Versatile, instinctive and explosive. JOK checks the boxes you want to see from a modern linebacker.”

ESPN’s scouts rated him among the top 90 percent of college players.

The Browns traded their No. 59 pick and No. 89 pick with Carolina to grab No. 52 (JOK) and No. 113 in the fourth round. Two picks for the Browns, two reasons to be excited about how the new guys will fit into the defense.

Who knew drafting so low (#26 and #52) could be so much fun?

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