Grading Cleveland Browns position groups before free agency and draft
By Clay Goodwin
Tight ends: B-
The tight end room for Cleveland has been mediocre of late. The leading tight end for the Browns is David Njoku. Njoku was a first round selection from the University of Miami (FL). He is an incredible athlete with limitless upside.
The problem is, he has yet to come close to his potential. Njoku has a serious problem with dropping the football. On far too many occasions the ball has hit him in the hands and he has failed to bring it in. Dropped passes are momentum killers.
Njoku should be a force in the redzone, as he is 6-foot-4 and high jumped over seven feet in high school track and field. Mayfield should be able to throw him jump balls and have a high conversion rate. He just is not consistent with catching the football.
Njoku is also not a great blocker either. On most rushing downs and heavy packages, Njoku is not in the game.
Backup tight end Demetrius Harris was just released this week, so there is not great depth here either. The Browns may bring back Ricky Seals-Jones, who was a pleasant surprise last year when filling in for the injured Njoku.
Njoku is still an intriguing player. He is gifted with great athleticism and strength. Hopefully another offseason working with Mayfield can prepare him for 2020. Cleveland needs him to be a weapon in the middle of the field. There is room for improvement here and still hope that Njoku can do just that.