Cleveland Browns chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta knows the team got a little lucky in landing Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft. Owusu-Koramoah was a popular projection for the Browns in the first round, but somehow he lasted all the way to the No. 52 overall pick.
The Browns aggressively traded up to land a player in the middle of the second round that they would have selected in the first round. DePodesta acknowledged the good fortune in his video conference call with reporters after the pick.
“There was a lot of pacing going around upstairs once we got to about pick 42, 43, 44 just trying to figure out if there was a way we could make it happen,” DePodesta said. “Sometimes, the board falls your way.”
The Browns gave up their first third-round pick, No. 89 overall, to move up seven spots to land Owusu-Koramoah. The Carolina Panthers also included a fourth-round pick in return. It’s a move nobody expected to happen, including the Browns braintrust.
