David Njoku leading Cleveland Browns three-headed tight end monster

Harrison Bryant flexes some muscle for Cleveland Browns this season

This season Harrison Bryant has been graded as the best run-blocking tight end among the Browns, and overall he grades as a borderline NFL starter or high-level backup. Bryant is listed this season at 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds, although he told the media at a press conference on August 10 that he has worked hard at gaining muscle mass and gained 13 pounds compared to 2020. He is noticeably stronger as a blocker this year.

The Browns took Bryant out of Florida Atlantic University as a fourth-round draft pick in 2020. At that time, Cleveland wasn’t necessarily desperate for help at tight end, having just signed Hooper and also having Njoku and even Stephen Carlson available. Apparently, this was a case of Bryant having too much talent for Andrew Berry to pass up.

Bryant played four years of college ball, and his yardage totals show that he improved each year as he gained 63, 408, 662, and 1,004 yards in receptions. In his senior year, he was a total beast, as evidenced by the fact that he was a unanimous All-American and won the John Mackey Award as the best tight end in America.

The Florida Atlantic Owls play in Conference USA, which is Division I FBS, but outside the Power Five. Hence, one of the criticisms against Bryant is that he didn’t have that name-brand football program experience, and the scouts did not trust his credentials. Plus, like Njoku, he was not an earth-shattering blocker in college. The Browns saw someone they felt confident was going to improve.

So far, they have been right.

However, the story does not end here. Cleveland has two other tight ends who are NFL caliber but unfortunately were injured in the preseason. There’s every reason to believe Stephen Carlson and Connor Davis can play in the league.