3 Reasons Browns David Njoku will excel in 2023
By Josh Brown
Cleveland Browns starting tight end David Njoku has come a long way since being drafted in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft at only 21 years old. He has gone from a disappointing first-round pick (according to a lot of Browns fans) to wanting out of Cleveland, to turning into a productive all-around tight end.
So what about Njoku screams breakout year?
Veteran mind with same skill/talent
Njoku is still the talent-laden player that was taken in the first round. He has done nothing but put up better numbers and improve his craft over the last six years in the league. At still only 27 years old he now has the veteran mind to go with his speed and athletic ability. He's a skilled route runner and knows when to break off and help his quarterback.
Now let's break a few myths about Njoku.
The first myth we are breaking is that he has issues with drops. Per Pro Football Reference, Njoku has a catch percentage of 64.4 in his career. Last year was his career-best at 72.5 percent.
Travis Kelce had a catch percentage of 72.4 last season and 71 for his career. Njoku is not far off that total while trending in the right direction. Amari Cooper had a catch percentage of 59.1 last season and 62.6 for his career. The point here is that Njoku doesn't have a problem with drops.
The second myth is he can't block.
Njoku is not the great blocker some try to make him out to be, but he's also not a horrible blocker either. He's a receiving tight end that can do enough in the run game to stay on the field for 83.5 percent of the snap counts last year per Player Profile. Njoku will never light the world on fire blocking and with the line we have we don't need him to. He needs to be the weapon that his talent tantalizes us with.