Cleveland Browns: David Njoku beginning to show his potential

The Cleveland Browns knew they were drafting a very raw player when they traded back into the first round in 2017 to select David Njoku, but they are beginning to see the player that they hoped he would develop into.

Coming out of the University of Miami, Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku was an athletic freak for a tight end. He was running past defenders like he was a wide receiver and he was jumping over anyone that tried to break up a jump ball thrown his way.

The athletic traits that he showed made the Browns feel comfortable trading up and selecting him in the 2017 first round. But even though he had the athletic traits to be one of the best tight ends in the game, he was still a very raw player in football terms.

Njoku was a high school receiver, so the first time that he played tight end was in college. Coming out of Miami, he was going to need a lot of work on the nuances of the position. And although he was a high school receiver, he would use his athleticism to spring open, not using his route running to set up defenders.

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Njoku also had a thinner frame than what a team would want from their tight end, which would not help him when he would play in-line and have to block defensive ends and linebackers.

But even with those worries, Njoku managed to have a solid rookie season. He played in every game last season, catching 60 passes for 386 yards and four touchdowns. However, Njoku only played 46.8 percent of the Browns offensive snaps last season, according to Pro Football Reference.

Njoku showed that he had a lot to work on in terms of blocking last season, which is why he did not see more than half of the team’s snaps. He still may need work in that area, but his coaches are beginning to see the overall development from Njoku that can make him the player they hoped he would become when they drafted him.

Cleveland Browns tight end coach Greg Seamon talked about the improvements Njoku has made from year one to year two, via cleveland.com’s Dan Labbe.

"Seamon called Njoku a much more refined route runner already. He also sees improvement in Njoku’s ability to focus on finding and catching the ball instead of focusing on what’s around him, something common in young receivers."

Coming in during a condensed offseason as a rookie, Njoku had a lot to learn. Not only in his technique and game, but also learning a much more complex playbook than what he was used to in college. With a full offseason under his belt and being able to understand a NFL playbook, Njoku was able to focus on refining his game, which is already evident to his coaches.

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Njoku may not be the star tight end that the Browns hope for him to become in his career in just year two, but he should become a much bigger part of the offense in 2018. And who knows, maybe a strong second season will be the framework to him becoming one of the league’s best tight ends.

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