Cleveland Browns: 3 early offensive training camp standouts in 2021
By Randy Gurzi
2. The tight ends. All of them.
The Cleveland Browns are not just deep along the offensive line, but they’re also stacked at tight end. They entered 2020 with David Njoku on the roster — a former first-round pick from Miami who has been an athletic beast at the position.
They then added Austin Hooper in free agency before drafting Harrison Bryant in the fourth round of the draft. Hooper, at the time, was the highest-paid at the position and Bryant won the John Mackey Award in 2019, which is the award given to the best tight end in the nation.
In 2020, Njoku took major steps forward as a blocker and Bryant flashed his potential as a rookie. Hooper had his moments and while he didn’t live up to his contract, he was still a solid player.
Heading into 2021, there’s even more expected from this group and tight end coach Drew Petzing has liked everything he has seen so far in camp. Speaking with members of the team’s official website, Petzing said that all three of these guys could be No. 1 tight ends.
"“We are almost in a room of three No. 1s,” Petzing, the Browns’ tight ends coach, said Saturday before the fourth practice of training camp. “When you have three guys of that level of talent and they all do different things well, it is our job as coaches to put them in a position to go out and be a part of our success. I think they were last year, and they will certainly continue to be this year as we get going.” — Anthony Poisal & Andrew Gribble, ClevelandBrowns.com"
It was high praise for some very talented players — and it’s not just lip service. Each of these players could start and that’s a huge plus for head coach Kevin Stefanski who loves to use multiple tight ends in his offense.