Cleveland Browns: Comparing the 2007 10-6 team to the 2018 team

Tight Ends

The 2007 tight ends group was one of the highlights on the field that season. This was Winslow Jr’s only Pro Bowl season in his career. Backup tight ends Steve Heiden and Darnell Dinkins did not produce nearly as much, as Winslow was a one man show that season.

Winslow was targeted 148 times, catching 82 of those passes for 1,106 yards and five touchdowns.

Heiden was targeted 21 times, catching 12 of those passes for 104 yards.

Despite appearing in 15 games, Dinkins only caught one pass for eight yards all season.

This was a very top heavy position group, with the top player being a very high caliber tight end for the season.

The 2018 Cleveland Browns tight ends group is one with a lot of promise. 2017 first round pick David Njoku leads the way for the group as the clear starter. 2016 fourth round pick Seth DeValve has shown promise as a good backup tight end in the NFL. Veteran Darren Fells has been brought in to use primarily as a blocking tight end, as he has stands as a huge 6-foot-7 and 270 pounds.

However, their combined 2017 stats aren’t even better than Winslow’s stats during his Pro Bowl run.

David Njoku only had 60 targets, catching 32 of them for 386 yards and four touchdowns his rookie year.

DeValve had 58 targets, catching 33 of them for 395 yards and one touchdown last season.

Fells had 26 targets, catching 17 of them for 177 yards and three touchdowns for the Lions last season.

This 2018 group has the potential to be much better than the 2007 group. Njoku is more athletic than Winslow and it seems like he has a more professional mindset. DeValve is a great backup to have, and Fells will also be used a lot this season. Expect the trio to put up big numbers this season, but as of right now, the 2007 tight ends group is better.

Advantage:

2007 Cleveland Browns