3. Njoku struggling early
Monday wasn’t the best day for tight end David Njoku. The Cleveland Browns tight end is fighting for a role in this offense now that Austin Hooper was brought in. Hooper is clearly the No. 1 guy and Njoku should be the second tight end but there are concerns about his blocking — which is going to be in demand as the second tight end.
His skill as a receiver is supposed to be what makes up for his deficiencies there but on Monday, that was also a problem. As Scott Petrak of Browns Zone pointed out, he missed two passes that he should have hauled in — including the first one of the day.
"“The first play of the first team drill in pads was a short incompletion to Njoku in traffic. Mayfield came back to him quickly, and Njoku dropped a pass on a corner route. He also had a high pass from Mayfield go off his hands along the sideline.” — Petrak, Browns Zone"
In addition to his drops, Njoku was also responsible for not lining up correctly on one play as well.
It might not have been a coincidence that Harrison Bryant was targeted a lot in practice after that as the coaching staff could have been sending a message to Njoku. Harrison, a fourth-round pick from FAU, is another great receiving option at the position and could take snape away from the former first-round pick.