CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The medical red flag concerning Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah that led to his slippage t the second round likely came from the medical recheck in Indianapolis prior to the draft the Browns linebacker revealed Friday.
Owusu-Koramoah reiterated that he is fine, and the Browns medical staff agreed, prompting the team to move up to 52 and select him in Round 2 of the NFL Draft.
“My heart is 100% healthy,” Owusu-Koramoah said during a Zoom video conference prior to the first rookie minicamp practice of the weekend. “You can see that going through the protocol, going through the tests, going through the EKGs and going through the past MRIs and things like that.
It’s not an issue. It’s not something I’m worried about.”
Browns executive vice president of football operations and general manager Andrew Berry downplayed any concerns about Owusu-Koramoah’s health in a recent interview with The Ken Carman Show with Anthony Lima on 92.3 The Fan.
“There’s really nothing in his background that would suggest he can’t have a nice, long career,” Berry said.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the day after the draft concluded that a heart issue “was a concern for most teams” and led to him falling out of the first round.
“It starts from something that really was based on the combine [re-check] and some of their testing and what they saw,” Owusu-Koramoah said. “But we have doctors here in the Cleveland Browns that I was just speaking to yesterday in terms of those same reports that the draft saw. The reports look fine. The EKGs look fine.”
Owusu-Koramoah feels his versatility and speed makes him a perfect fit with Joe Woods’ defense in Cleveland where he expects to have a similar role as he did at Notre Dame.
As for falling out of the first round, Owusu-Koramoah doesn’t plan to find any artificial motivation in that.
“I don’t think it was hard to stay positive just because of the work I knew I put in,” Owusu-Koramoah said. “I know my talent. I know how hard I work. I know what I deserve. Whether the teams think that, whether other people think that, that’s up to them to decide but all I needed was an opportunity.”