Cleveland Browns trio takes home All-Rookie honors

Greg Newsome II, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Demetric Felton all honored by the Pro Football Writers of America. 

The Cleveland Browns rookie class picked up some honors on Tuesday as three players were named to the Pro Football Writer of America’s All-Rookie team.

Honored were cornerback Greg Newsome II, linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, and running back Demetric Felton, who was chosen as a punt returner.

The Browns joined the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs as the only teams with three rookies selected.

Newsome, the club’s first-round selection, stepped into the role opposite Pro Bowler Denzel Ward to give the Browns their best cornerback duo since Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield were locking down receivers in the 1980s. Newsome earned a coverage grade of 70.6 from Pro Football Focus, which was tops among rookie cornerbacks who played the majority of their defensive snaps lined up on the outside, according to ESPN.

On the season, Newsome finished with nine pass breakups, 37 tackles and a forced fumble, according to clevelandbrowns.com.

Owusu-Koramoah, the club’s second-round selection, brought a much-needed athleticism to the linebacker group. He allowed just 168 passing yards on 300 coverage snaps, which ranked third on the season for off-ball linebackers who played at least 250 defensive snaps in coverage, according to ESPN.

On the season, Owusu-Koramoah was second on the team with 76 tackles, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles and three tackles for loss, according to the team website.

PFF charted Owusu-Koramoah with just 168 passing yards allowed into his coverage on 300 coverage snaps this season. That rate of 0.56 yards allowed per snap ranked third among off-ball linebackers with at least 250 coverage snaps during the regular season.

Felton, the club’s sixth-round selection, had 32 punt returns for 277 yards. He added nine kickoff returns for 172 yards, while also rushing seven times for 24 yards and catching 18 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns, giving him 654 yards of total offense on the season.

The Pro Football Writer of America has selected an All-Rookie team every year since 1974. The Browns have had 43 players named to the All-Rookie team over the years, with defensive end Mack Mitchell earning the first honor in 1975.