Cleveland Browns low usage of David Njoku is unacceptable

Njoku does what Hooper doesn’t

Despite being the most athletic of the tight ends, and the only true mismatch, Njoku has been targeted only 24 times on the year. Even in a game where the Browns were without their top four wide receivers, Njoku, who is entirely capable of lining up split out wide and beating a cornerback over the top, was on the field for just 31 snaps. He caught all four of his targets, by the way.

Now at the end of his fourth NFL season, Njoku still has a stigma of being an unreliable catcher who doesn’t block well. That second flaw has all but disappeared. He does have three drops on the season, but has also made some very difficult catches. Hooper has dropped four passes and isn’t making the tough ones that you’d like a player of his pricetag to make.

Hooper is also a poor athlete who is unable to create separation on his own. He made two Pro Bowls with the Atlanta Falcons by working in big holes in zone coverage as the defense focused on Calvin Ridley and Julio Jones. Perhaps he’d be playing better if Odell Beckham Jr. hadn’t been injured, and perhaps Hooper’s performance of late has been affected by the appendectomy he underwent earlier in the season along with his recent neck injury.

But the fact remains that Hooper is far from a primary receiving option; we saw what happens when that is the case against the New York Jets; it’s not pretty.