I was not a huge fan of David Njoku his first couple of years in the league. He had a lot of growth that he needed to make within the game of football to become an elite tight end option. The athleticism was there, but other things were missing. Over the last couple of seasons, we've seen that growth take place, and I've been banging the drum for David Njoku to be a bigger part of this Cleveland Browns offense.
We saw some glimpses towards the end of 2022, and to begin 2023, it was not a great start. Deshaun Watson once again was not looking David Njoku's way. But then Deshaun Watson goes down with an injury, and a couple of weeks later, David Njoku didn't look back, being one of the best tight ends the rest of the season.
In week seven, David Njoku had his first tight end one performance of the season. Over the next 11 weeks, David Njoku would be a tight end one 10 times. It was clear that he became a huge part of this offense. He even had a couple of low tight end one finishes with Deshaun Watson himself when he tried to come back.
For 2024, I'm trying to be optimistic, but like I've mentioned, Deshaun Watson just doesn't seem to vibe with David Njoku, and because of that, it leads to some inconsistent performances. Plus, they went out and added Jerry Jeudy this offseason as well. David Njoku still has an opportunity to be a guy that can find himself within the top 12 tight ends. I don't think he's going to be nearly as consistent as he was last season. Ten out of 11 weeks being a tight end one may be a little bit too much to ask for, but he's definitely going to have an opportunity, especially if he's utilized within the red zone.
Last season's volume may not come back. I'm not seeing 123 targets again for David Njoku, but if we can at least get him to around 100 targets, that should get him within the top 12 on a much more consistent basis.
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