David Njoku says he won’t be re-signing with the Browns, and I’ll be interested to see where he lands. At 29, he’s still capable of playing some solid ball.
Njoku wasn’t productive in the just-completed season, but he was stuck in a less-than-ideal situation, with a pair of rookies starting at quarterback for most of the season. And the Browns made extensive use of another tight end – rookie Harold Fannin. Njoku also missed five games and most of a sixth.
Even in a dire situation, Njoku was reasonably productive early in the season, catching 20 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown in his first five games.
But he finished the season with only 33 catches, 293 yards and 4 TDs, averaging just under 3 catches per game.
Looking at previous seasons, however, Njoku was far more effective. In per-game production (using PPR scoring), he ranked 8th, 6th and 4th among tight ends the previous three seasons.
In the two years prior to the just completed season, only two tight ends who started over half the time averaged better numbers than Njoku – George Kittle and Travis Kelce.
| TIGHT ENDS, PER GAME (2023-24) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | St | No | Rec | TD | FPG |
| George Kittle, S.F. | 31 | 4.6 | 68.4 | .45 | 14.2 |
| Travis Kelce, K.C. | 31 | 6.1 | 58.3 | .26 | 13.5 |
| David Njoku, Cle. | 27 | 5.4 | 51.4 | .43 | 13.1 |
| Trey McBride, Ari. | 33 | 5.8 | 59.7 | .21 | 13.1 |
| Sam LaPorta, Det. | 33 | 4.4 | 48.9 | .54 | 12.5 |
| Evan Engram, Jac. | 26 | 6.2 | 51.1 | .21 | 12.5 |
| T.J. Hockenson, Min. | 25 | 5.4 | 56.6 | .20 | 12.3 |
| Mark Andrews, Balt. | 27 | 3.7 | 45.1 | .63 | 12.0 |
| Jonnu Smith, Atl.-Mia. | 34 | 4.1 | 43.1 | .32 | 10.3 |
| Dallas Goedert, Phil. | 24 | 4.2 | 45.3 | .21 | 10.0 |
| Tucker Kraft, G.B. | 24 | 3.2 | 42.5 | .39 | 9.8 |
| Zach Ertz, Ari.-Was. | 24 | 3.9 | 35.0 | .36 | 9.5 |
| Jake Ferguson, Dall. | 31 | 4.2 | 40.5 | .16 | 9.2 |
| Cole Kmet, Chi. | 34 | 3.5 | 35.1 | .30 | 8.9 |
| Hunter Henry, N.E. | 30 | 3.6 | 36.4 | .27 | 8.8 |
| Isaiah Likely, Balt. | 24 | 2.7 | 33.5 | .46 | 8.8 |
| Dalton Kincaid, Buff. | 29 | 4.0 | 38.7 | .14 | 8.7 |
| Pat Freiermuth, Pitt. | 29 | 3.3 | 33.1 | .32 | 8.6 |
| Dalton Schultz, Hou. | 32 | 3.5 | 36.5 | .22 | 8.5 |
| Cade Otton, T.B. | 31 | 3.4 | 34.0 | .27 | 8.4 |
While Njoku perhaps isn’t quite what he was two years ago, I think he can still play. I expect he’ll attract plenty of interest in free agency, particularly considering the success the Rams and Bills had with formations using multiple tight ends. (I think there will be multiple coaches looking at how Sean McVay was using multiple tight ends in the second half of the season, trying to copy some of those looks.)
It's early. Let’s see where Njoku lands and what his new team says about how it expects to use him. But I’m ballparking that he’ll wind up being a top-20 tight end on my board.
The Browns selected Njoku in the first round back in 2017. It’s fair to wonder what heights he might have hit in his first nine seasons had he landed with a more productive offense. He perhaps has a few good seasons left and is ready to find out.
“Cleveland, first off I love you,” he wrote on social media. "These 9 years have been a beautiful journey. I'm am so grateful for all the memories we shared together. Thank you to the Haslams, Andrew Berry and the whole Browns organization for everything!! All my teammates I shared the battle with I'm so grateful for you guys. The time for me to find a new home has come and all I can think of is just the gratefulness in my heart. The city of Cleveland will forever be home.”
—Ian Allan
