Jeremiah
Owusu-Koramoah.
Jeremiah
Owusu-Koramoah.
Notre Dame· 6'1"· 221 lb
"A 215-lb Butkus Award winner with the range to shadow tight ends and the tools of a two-down linebacker at that weight — plus a heart condition (HCM) that dropped him out of Round 1 entirely."Pre-draft read
JOK is a chess-piece off-ball linebacker whose signature trait is chase speed—sideline-to-sideline range turning 3-yard runs into 3-yard runs by closing alleys. He plays with elite eye discipline, triggering on run keys as fast as any in his class, covering ground in the flat with nickel corner recovery burst. In man, he mirrors backs and tight ends stride for stride, bringing legitimate blitz value on two-way goes through the guard.
His 216-pound frame makes him ricochet off double-teams and lead blockers instead of stacking-and-shedding, and take-on strength against NFL power is a weekly matchup problem. He wins with speed, angles, and instincts, not power at the point of attack.
This player fits best within a Fangio-style two-high coverage scheme that prioritizes speed and versatility at the linebacker position to defend modern spread and RPO offenses.
JOK can contribute immediately as a sub-package nickel linebacker, covering slot receivers, tight ends, and running backs, with a ceiling to be a game-changing chess piece.
He would be a poor fit for a traditional two-gap 3-4 scheme that requires linebackers to consistently stack and shed blocks at the point of attack due to his size.
His elite speed, coverage skills, and blitz ability align perfectly with a defense that prefers to get speed on the field in nickel and dime packages, but his lack of size limits him in gap-oriented run schemes.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah — Notre Dame Highlights
Canonical pre-draft cutup showing chase speed, coverage range and blitz value across the Butkus-winning 2020 season.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah Scouting Report — 2021 NFL Draft
Pre-draft scouting breakdown covering man-coverage skill set, take-on concerns and Browns projection.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah — Top Plays of the 2023 Season
Official Browns channel: peak-form 2023 reel under Jim Schwartz — sideline-to-sideline range, blitz sacks, coverage reps.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah arrived at the 2021 NFL Draft as the most versatile defender in his class, providing a unique evaluation for teams. He projected as a hybrid off-ball linebacker who could cover slots, tight ends, and backs, offering genuine blitz value due to his speed and twitch. At 6'1" and 216 pounds, he tested cleanly across change-of-direction drills, running a 4.55 pro day forty. This profile allowed teams to envision him as a modern sub-package defender.
He contributed for three years at Notre Dame, peaking in 2020 with 62 tackles, 11 TFL, and 1.5 sacks in seven games. During this time, he earned the Butkus Award, ACC Defensive Player of the Year, and consensus All-American honors while playing a hybrid rover/nickel role. This usage showcased his ability to operate in various alignments, offering defensive coordinators a versatile chess piece.
Public draft boards had him as a consensus top-30 pick based on tape. However, medical rechecks at the combine flagged a heart condition, causing him to slide past the first round. Cleveland selected him at pick 52, representing a discount reflecting both his unique skill set and the medical uncertainty.
- 01
Elite movement traits
sub-4.5 speed and rare hip fluidity for the position; profiles as a modern hybrid linebacker who can cover slot receivers, tight ends and running backs from any alignment.
- 02
Coverage versatility
real reps in press-slot, man on tight ends and deep-zone assignments at Notre Dame; a legitimate three-role chess piece for defenses that live in nickel personnel.
- 03
Instincts and processing
reads run keys quickly, diagnoses zone-read plays and shows the pre-snap communication traits teams want in a green-dot signal caller.
- 04
Blitz and pressure production
twitchy get-off on the green-dog blitz, real interior pressure creator on simulated looks and finishes at the quarterback rather than just arriving.
- 05
Motor and pursuit
chases plays sideline to sideline, finishes through the whistle and shows up on backside effort tackles more than his position typically warrants.
- 01
Size and mass
6-1, 215 pounds with sub-32-inch arms; light for a linebacker asked to take on interior blocks and can be washed at the point of attack by pulling guards.
- 02
Take-on and block-shedding
leaner frame gets stacked by climbing offensive linemen; will get engulfed on iso and duo runs and needs to add reliable stack-and-shed technique.
- 03
Tackling technique in space
willing but inconsistent; will duck his head and dip his shoulder in open field, leading to missed tackles that turn into chunk plays.
- 04
Medical file
heart condition flagged during the pre-draft process required additional clearance; long-term durability question added to the evaluation.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- —s
- Vertical
- 36.5inp50
- Broad jump
- 124inp50
- Three-cone
- 6.80sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.15sp50
- Bench
- —rep
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Notre Dame | 13 | 79 | 8.5 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2020 | Notre Dame | 12 | 61 | 1.5 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Career | — | 25 | 140 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Realistic outcome — a versatile chess-piece defender who plays multiple roles at a plus level but never becomes a traditional MIKE
Ceiling case if the frame carries the workload and coverage tape holds — an All-Pro three-down linebacker who anchors a top-five defense
Floor case if size and medical concerns compound — a moneybacker/hybrid piece whose career is limited by scheme fit and health
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Hit until medical stopped him. Impact rookie (4 fumble recoveries, TD), Second-Team All-Pro-adjacent 2022 season (2 forced fumbles, 100+ tackles). Suffered a series of neck injuries starting in 2023, retired in 2024 at 24 years old on medical advice. Correct diagnosis: elite player when healthy; the file was the story.
**Pre-draft context.** Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah — "JOK" — arrived at the 2021 NFL Draft as the most versatile defender in the class and one of its most polarizing evaluations. A three-year Notre Dame contributor who peaked with a 62-tackle, 11-TFL, 1.5-sack 2020 season across just seven pandemic-shortened games, he won the Butkus Award, ACC Defensive Player of the Year and consensus All-American honors playing a hybrid rover/nickel/off-ball role that did not exist on most college depth charts. At 6'1" and 216 pounds he was undersized for a traditional off-ball linebacker but ran a 4.55 pro day forty and tested cleanly across change-of-direction drills. Public boards had him in the 15-30 range on tape alone, but medical rechecks at the combine flagged a heart condition that quietly dropped him past most of the first round; Cleveland stopped the slide at #52.
**NFL fit — Browns.** JOK was deployed into a multiple front that could line him up as a MIKE, SAM, big nickel and blitzing overhang from Day 1. He started 14 games as a rookie (76 tackles, 1 INT, 2 sacks, 1 FF), built on it in 2022 (a 101-tackle season with an interception return TD), and turned into a full-time chess piece in 2023 when the team shifted to an attacking four-man front. The turning point was a Week 16 2023 hit on a return vs. Houston that resulted in a serious neck injury; a follow-up neck injury in October 2024 landed him on IR and cast his 2025 future into doubt. When healthy from 2021 through mid-2023 he was one of the best coverage-and-run hybrid linebackers in football.
**Retrospective.** JOK is the pre-draft evaluation confirmed on both ends. The trait profile — coverage range, blitz value, chase speed — was every bit the top-15 player teams graded on tape, and the three healthy seasons in Cleveland proved it. The flag that dropped him — the medical file — is exactly what has now capped a career that was headed to multiple Pro Bowls. As a 2nd-round pick this is a clean hit; the tragedy is that the discount at #52 was the correct market read.