Browns should pay Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah whatever it takes to keep him in Cleveland

When the Cleveland Browns drafted Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah with the 52nd overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, it was met with praise, but with some skepticism. Andrew Berry had to have been salivating when he saw JOK was available towards the end of Round 2. JOK was passed over by all 31 other teams due to a heart condition and his size.

In his first two seasons, JOK was hit-and-miss but showed glimpses of what he could do between the lines. Then, in 2023, he exploded onto the scene and had a Pro Bowl season, the first of his career. He racked up 101 tackles (72 solo, 20 for a loss - led the position), 3.5 sacks, two interceptions, six pass deflections, and a forced fumble.

Cleveland hired Jim Schwartz last offseason to be the defensive coordinator and he was unable to unlock and unleash JOK's unique set of skills. Owusu-Koramoah blitzed 60 times in 2023, the most in a single season for him.

According to NFL executives, coaches, and scouts, JOK is the sixth-best off-ball linebacker based on the explosive season he had last year. He was one of six Browns players who made the top 10 in positional rankings, tying them for third-most in the NFL, which is good, but only two of those players cracked the top 50 NFL players.

According to The OBR's Brad Stainbrook, JOK and the Browns are not seeing eye-to-eye right now on a new deal, despite being in talks for some time now. If I'm Berry, I'm giving JOK whatever number will keep him in The Land long-term.

There's plenty of time to get a deal done, so don't expect it to be prior to the start of training camp, as the Browns still need to figure out a new deal for wideout Amari Cooper. It is possible that JOK could build off of last season's success during the first four to six weeks of the season, and then a deal could get done.

The Browns struck gold when they drafted Owusu-Koramoah back in 2021, as he is a perfect hybrid player for today's NFL. He has elite speed and is always near the football, a lot of the time making tackles on the ball carrier. He can blitz or drop back in coverage and never seem to be out of place.

More Browns coverage