The Cleveland Browns have made a lot of changes to their team in this 2018 offseason, but how do they plan on utilizing their tight ends?
The changes to the Cleveland Browns roster has been dissected all offseason. They brought in a new signal caller, some new wide outs and a whole lot of tweaks were made to the back end of their defense.
One position that remained pretty solid is the tight end spot, which just saw minimal change.
The biggest change for that group was them trading Randall Telfer to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for linebacker Dadi Nicolas. That trade ended up being nixed by the two franchises for some reason and the players involved were then waived.
Cleveland was willing to let Telfer go thanks to their lone signing at the position, Darren Fells. Telfer never offered much in the passing game, with just five career receptions since being picked in the sixth-round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
He was a solid blocker on the line however, and that’s exactly what Fells can do, only better.
Now that we know who is on the roster, let’s take a deeper look at what their role will be in 2018 for the Browns.
David Njoku
One of three first round picks last season, David Njoku came to the Browns after a solid career with the Miami Hurricanes. He’s got amazing athleticism for the position and is like having an extre wide out on the field.
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As a rookie, Njoku was really good. He had 32 receptions for 386 yards and four touchdowns. That may not seem like a ton at first, but according to George Stockburger of NFL Mocks, those numbers put the young man in some elite company.
"“Drafted at just 20 years old, Njoku became just the fifth tight end to record 30 receptions, 300 yards at age 21 season: Tony Gonzalez, Rob Gronkowski, Jason Witten, Aaron Hernandez, and Njoku. Three of those players are Canton-bound at some point in their life.” — Stockburger, NFL Mocks"
Heading into his second season, Njoku could very well see his star rise even higher. He’s incredibly athletic, has strong hands and now has a quarterback in Tyrod Taylor who has a history of relying on the tight end in the passing game.
Where Njoku can really make the most strides though is as a blocker. This is something he struggled with as a rookie, but with proper coaching and some hard work he can improve. He doesn’t have to be great, just good enough that he’s no liability.
Darren Fells
As we already mentioned, veteran tight end Darren Fells is here for one reason — he’s a great blocker. He’s also got some solid athleticism to his game which is likely due to his background as a basketball player.
He played all over the world from 2008 to 2012 before trying to get himself into the NFL. In 2013 he got a shot with the Seattle Seahawks but didn’t catch on with them. He found a home with the Arizona Cardinals for the next three seasons before landing in Detroit with the Lions and now finally Cleveland.
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His stat line is nothing to go crazy over. His best season ever was 2015 when he had 21 receptions for 311 yards and three touchdowns for Arizona. Outside of that he’s never hit more than 177 yards in a year.
Don’t expect that to change in Cleveland. The big guy is here to be the blocking tight end, and while he’s good at it, that’s one thankless job.
Fells will likely be on the field when the team needs help on the edges against great edge rushers, or in the red zone as they try to pound the ball in for a score.
Seth DeValve
The third tight end on the Browns is going to be Seth DeValve. A fourth-round pick out of Princeton, DeValve found himself a nice niche with the Browns last season. He developed into a nice pass catcher with 33 receptions for 395 yards and a score.
His 12 yards per catch average was nice and he offered a solid target in the middle of the field. However, his blocking wasn’t up to par, and DeValve may find himself on the field even less now thanks to the addition of Fells.
Even so, he should be a lock for the third spot — which could be all the tight ends the Browns keep on their roster in 2018.
Julian Allen
An undrafted rookie out of Southern Mississippi, Julian Allen had just 22 receptions during his time with the Conference USA team. He did miss all but four games in 2017, while having 19 receptions the year before.
He’s a longshot to make the roster given his limited production during his collegiate years.
Devon Cajuste
Signed in January, Devon Cajuste was an undrafted receiver turned tight end after a career at Stanford. He spent time with the San Francisco 49ers before joining the Green Bay Packers practice squad.
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He still has yet to make an active regular season roster, so he will need to make a huge impact to convince the Browns to keep him around.