Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah fell from a potential first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft into the middle of the second round, where the Cleveland Browns traded up to snag the versatile linebacker.
Part of that fall apparently had to do with a reported heart issue that popped up late in the process. Medical information was one issue that NFL clubs complained about not having a complete picture of this year ahead of the draft. Concerns help explain Owusu-Koramoah's draft fall.
For his part, the Notre Dame product downplayed the issue, telling The Jim Rome Show on Tuesday that whatever was found wasn't a concern.
"You get news,'' he said, via Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer. "You get a lot of news within the draft and the process you're going through. There was something that came up in terms of what guys were saying, but in terms of me, in terms of the personal aspect there were no really heart issues at all. There was nothing that was too ticked off and we went back to Notre Dame and looked at the medical records and everything. I never really had any heart issues or anything going on there. You know, you hear a lot of things, but you've got to get it from the source.''
JOK's comments echo that of Browns general manager Andrew Berry, who earlier in the day dismissed the heart concerns, telling 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland that the linebacker is "completely healthy."
"There's really nothing in his background that would suggest he can't have a nice, long career,'' Berry said.
Concern over the medical issue might have persuaded some clubs to skip out on Owusu-Koramoah. The other concern was defensive coaches unsure of how they'd use the tweener linebacker. After watching the Arizona Cardinals struggle in finding a home for similarly versatile Isaiah Simmons, some teams worried JOK didn't have a true NFL position.
Cleveland isn't one of those clubs.
One Browns source told NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport that Owusu-Koramoah is a "perfect WILL LB in our system."
Trading up in the second round to snag JOK at No. 52, Cleveland believes it could have one of the steals of the draft and a player who can help reshape a defense that should have a plethora of new starters in 2021.
