Cleveland Browns roster chatter: JOK to compete at safety?
The Cleveland Browns scored a big draft win with the selection of Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah out of Notre Dame in the second round.
Cleveland reportedly considered the linebacker in the first round, but played it smart and picked up Owusu-Koramoah in the second round after moving a few spots.
In the grand scheme of roster configuration, JOK seemed like a logical fit to compete for snaps at linebacker from day one. JOK will be completing for time on the field, but ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi contends it won’t be at the position we all think it will be.
The long-time Browns writer suspects the selection of JOK “Seems, at least partially, motivated,” by the season ending Achilles injury sustained by Grant Delpit on the first day of camp, via TheLandonDemand.com (subscription).
Grossi contends that Delpit is listed at 6-foot-2, 213 pounds, while JOK is 6-1, 215. One is listed as a linebacker, the other as a safety. In the lead-up to the draft, JOK’s ability to cover like a safety was widely attributed to the prospect as one of his best traits.
The Brown are expected to deploy a 4-2-5 defense scheme on approximately 40 percent of the team’s defensive snaps, according to Grossi, as teams continue to load up on on wide-receiver sets.
Grossi’s argument wasn’t really that controversial to me, because when I was coming through the catacombs of the interweb to collect information on JOK, and read about his safety-like coverage ability, I more than once, thought: “Well, why not play him at safety or some hybrid role if he can cover so well?”
Of course, training camp will sort it all out. Can Jacob Phillips show enough in year two to be a regular contributor? His speed is certainly tantalizing. Additionally, this is a big camp for Mack Wilson. He was one of PFF’s worst graded linebackers a season ago.
The best-case scenario would be for Delpit to show he’s healthy and and take over a starting job, like he’s supposed to. He was an exceptional talent at LSU, which is why we all loved his selection in the second round two drafts ago.
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If that is indeed the case and I hope it is, don’t worry about JOK. His versatility should ensure he sees a contributing roll at some point.