Ifo Ekpre-Olomu was forced to wait seven rounds to land with an NFL team, but the former Oregon cornerback finally found a home with the Cleveland Browns.
After finishing first-team All Pac-12 over the past two seasons, Ekpre-Olomu was seen as a potential first-rounder before a December knee injury put his draft stock in doubt.
Browns general manager Ray Farmer believes the 5-foot-9, hard-hitting cover man will eventually bloom into a productive member of Cleveland's secondary.
"We felt like we were getting the right kind of guy that we knew had talent. He suffered an unfortunate injury. We are confident he will get healthy," Farmer said Saturday, per the team's official website, adding, per ESPN.com: "We felt this kid can be a starter if he's 100 percent."
Ekpre-Olomu wisely took out a $3 million insurance policy to protect him from slipping in the draft, so money isn't an issue. His challenge comes in the form of returning to the field after tearing knee ligaments during Oregon's preparations for January's Rose Bowl.
"He's tough and has ball skills," one AFC South area scout told NFL Media's Lance Zierlein. "He's just being asked to go play right now but he'll get the right technique work in our league and watch how good he becomes then. He's going to be great."
It's too early to call this a steal for the Browns, but if Ekpre-Olomu returns to form, Cleveland has swung a coup d'etat in the secondary. IEO sounds motivated to make that happen:
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