Grading the Cleveland Browns offensive depth

Cleveland Browns Tight End Depth

With the recent contract extension of David Njoku, the Browns have their primary tight end for the foreseeable future. But what do the Browns have behind the ultra-athletic Njoku?

In Harrison Bryant, the Browns have one of the best unknown tight ends in the NFL. Bryant should be in line for a huge year with the departure of Austin Hooper. While Njoku will get most of the headlines in the tight end room, Bryant may prove to be the most effective tight end on a per-target basis.

Bryant won’t wow anyone with his athleticism, but the third-year player has tremendous size and a natural knack for getting open down the field. Do not be surprised if Bryant leads the tight end room in touchdowns in 2022. But behind Bryant the Browns have a bunch of hopes and dreams.

The leading candidate to be the Browns third tight end is Miller Forristall. The second-year tight end out of Alabama spent the majority of 2021 on the practice squad. Forristall has made a decent account of himself during the portion of OTAs that has been open to the media, so he has a perceived leg up on the players that are rounding out the tight end room.

That brings us to the hyphens. Nakia Griffen-Stewart, Zaire Mitchell-Paden, and Marcos Santos-Silva. The trio were all brought in to compete at tight end and potentially snag a roster spot. The former was a college basketball player with no football experience past his freshman year of high school. The Browns are throwing darts with the hopes of hitting paydirt.

For a team that has played as much 13 personnel as the Browns have in the past, the team currently is not rostering enough NFL quality tight ends that they can count on. Either the team does not plan on playing the same tight end heavy schemes, or they are waiting for roster cuts to add another proven tight end to the roster. Or…do the Browns know something about one of the hyphens that we do not?

Tight end depth: D