Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah: What the scouts said pre-draft about the Browns 2nd-round LB
When the Cleveland Browns landed Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft, the selection received near-universal praise. A quick look at some of the prominent scouting reports on Owusu-Koramoah from the pre-draft guides illustrates why.
Scouts loved so much of Owusu-Koramoah’s game. Here’s a sampling of some of the reports and scouting profiles of “JOK” from various outlets from before the draft.
Pro Football Focus
PFF began the praise by noting Owusu-Koramoah is “smooth as can be. Able to flip his hips and run with receivers.”
The coverage aspect is what drew the most love, a theme that is seen a lot across the reports.
Calling Owusu-Koramoah a linebacker might be doing him a disservice. He is the new breed at the position that transcends positional designation. If you need him to line up in the slot — the role he most often executed in Notre Dame’s defense — he can go toe-to-toe with a wide receiver. If you need him in the box, he can explode through blockers and ball carriers. He can give defensive coordinators the flexibility to match up with anything offenses throw at them. There’s not much projection here either, as JOK has already been excellent in coverage over the past two seasons.
The negative bullet points are also ones that are familiar across outlets,
“Would immediately be about the smallest linebacker in the NFL. Rarely played between the tackles. Only around 200 snaps last year.”
Even with the drawbacks, JOK still earned a first-round grade from PFF.
NFL.com
Analyst Lance Zierlein is clearly a fan. Witness the summary report he penned on Owusu-Koramoah at NFL.com,
It’s hard to see Owusu-Koramoah’s explosive traits, versatility and playmaking ability on display and not get excited about what is to come. Concerns will be raised about his lack of size and occasional lapses in fundamentals, but neither should detract from his rare potential as a game-changing talent. Not only is he fast to range and help control the outside running game, but he has an instant downhill trigger paired with a willingness to take chances, which should lead to big plays near and behind the line of scrimmage. He has the athletic ability to handle man-cover duties on a variety of positions and his rush potential as a wild-card blitzer bolsters his value. There is still a need to harness and control his energetic playing style and his field discipline is still a work in progress. However, his athletic traits, versatility and playmaking demeanor give him a chance to become the most impactful defender in this draft.
The grade of 6.82 translates to a “Quality Year 1 starter” on their scale.
Ourlads
The team at Ourlads, headed by longtime NFL scout Dan Shonka, really liked Owusu-Koramoah’s ability to play in space.
Plays the Rover position which is like the hybrid/outside linebacker position in the NFL. While somewhat undersized to play in the box, he has the skills NFL teams covet as a big nickel. Instinctive versus the run he takes good
angles to the ball with outstanding chase ability. Flashes hand usage and can slip blocks on the move. Explosive with gather and finish he can drop a ball carrier in his tracks.
The love continues,
Often used to match tight ends and slots, he has the speed to play vertical routes. Has range in zone coverage with a quick break on the ball. Plays under deep routes in flat coverage with spacing to break up on the short throw.
Ourlads does note the lack of bulk and that “straight-up blocks will give him problems,” as well as citing the unusual position he plays as an “overhang” safety. But they conclude Owusu-Koramoah “is an elite prospect” with a grade of 9.55 out of 10, indicative of an immediate starter capable of impact plays right away.
The Athletic/Dane Brugler
Speed and explosiveness highlight the evaluation from Brugler at The Athletic in his annual “The Beast” compendium.
“Rare explosion for his size…speedy, rangy and covers a lot of ground in a short time…drives on the football with sudden twitch…consistently closes
cushion and chases down plays from behind…his burst off the edge is a frightening sight for quarterbacks…stays patient at the top of routes before carrying tight ends and slot receivers downfield…shows enough cover awareness to know what’s going on…very intelligent on and off the field, sniffing out plays…physical striker who doesn’t just explode toward his target. He maintains that explosion through his target, creating violent collisions (he had five forced fumbles over the last two seasons)”
As for the negatives? The notes here are a familiar chord,
“Reacts before reading…his explosion will find him out of position because of his eagerness to make plays…too many false steps and can be shook by
route runners…needs to shore up his pursuit angles and strike zone to be a more consistent tackler…too many ball carriers escape his grasp, struggling to finish with his hands…still developing his take-on skills…needs to better reach his landmarks and get deep enough with his zone responsibilities…tweener size and his positional fit will depend on the scheme.”
