The Cleveland Browns have upgraded their defense with their first two picks in the 2021 NFL Draft, adding Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Greg Newsome II.
The Browns aren’t messing around when it comes to bolstering the defense in the 2021 NFL Draft.
They followed up their first-round selection of Greg Newsome from Northwestern with another outstanding pick in the second round.
The newest Brown is Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, thanks to trade up with the Panthers.
Cleveland swapped their second-round selection and got a fifth-rounder while giving up a third- and sixth-rounder. Owusu-Koramoah should be worth the price.
The Browns went all-in on the defense
Owusu-Koramoah is an uber impressive athlete who made plays all over the field for the Irish. He had double-digit tackles for loss in 2019 and 2020. If those stats don’t do it for you, maybe awards like the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and the Dick Butkus Award will express just how dominant he was.
He didn’t just get it done at the line of scrimmage. He was also an exceptional figure in pass defense.
Browns fans were rightly pumped about adding him to Joe Woods’ defense.
The fact that the Browns got such an exciting linebacker on top of Newsome just makes the draft that much better.
Newsome answered any questions about his speed at his Pro Day with a 4.31-second 40-yard dash. He has great instincts to go along with good size, which allowed him to give up a completion on only 31.6 percent of the throws that came his way in 2020, according to Pro Football Focus. While he only played 17 games for Northwester, he had 20 pass breakups in his career.
Having Newsome around will give the Browns a strong cornerback group including Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams.