The Opening Drive 2/22: JOK Update Full of Gloom, and Four Founder's Mock Drafts
Let us know which of the four guest mock drafts is the best.
I think we all knew this sort of news was trending in this direction, and yesterday Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland reported the news you don’t want to hear. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is ‘doubtful’ to ever return to football. The neck injury he suffered in late October of 2024 is the type you just don’t see players return from, at least not at a position as physical as linebacker. While JOK has yet to speak publicly about the injury and has clearly been doing all he can to find a pathway back, that outcome appears increasingly doubtful.
You cannot forget how special he was on the field. From his arrival in 2021 to his final games of the 2024 season, there was nobody quite like him. He played the position with such flair and grace. He simply had a style all his own.
The man was the perfect modern linebacker — a heat-seeking missile at times who could click and close with the best of them. He also had this unique way of playing the position, almost as if he were a shifty running back avoiding oncoming blockers, using the same types of moves in tight spaces you see from Christian McCaffrey. He was easily the player I enjoyed covering more than any other since I started covering this team.
Owusu-Koramoah had some All-Pro seasons coming. That was where this was headed. I have no doubt about it. Who knows if it really is over for him, and if that’s the case, based on the nature of his injury, being able to walk away with his health would be a fantastic outcome. But he will always be one of the Browns’ greatest “what if” stories. He was special.
I hope — however small the odds — that we see JOK play in the league one more time.
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Editor’s Note: All four of the guest mock drafts today traded down from pick No. 6. So you can tell we’re conditioned as Browns fans for that sort of thing.
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