CLEVELAND — From one-handed catches down the field to fighting off tacklers to gain extra yardage, the Cleveland Browns have seen the kind of impact tight end David Njoku can have when he is at the top of his game.
Going forward, the Browns want a more consistent level of productivity out of Njoku and issued that challenge during the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine.
“David is a work in progress,” Browns coach Freddie Kitchens said during his press conference at The Combine in Indianapolis. “He’s going to continue to get better on a day-in, day-out basis. The main thing we look for is a player that wants to, and David wants to. I expect him to continue to do that.
“I think he made strides during the course of the year. He’s got to become more consistent and he knows that. He’s looking forward to the challenge of doing that, and that’s what we’re going to get out of David. I don’t have any doubt.”
The Browns traded back into the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft to select Njoku out of the University of Miami, and since then, he has turned 148 targets into 88 catches for 1,025 yards and eight touchdowns with 44 first downs.
During the 2018 season, Njoku was on the receiving end of 56 catches, which he converted into 639 yards and four touchdowns along with 27 first downs.
“I love his passion,” general manager John Dorsey said. “I love his competitiveness. Here’s a guy that is so willing to go work, day in and day out, to try and master his craft. I have high expectations, we have high expectations for David moving forward, and he, rightfully, has high expectations of himself.”
While Njoku struggled with consistency, he was a part of several big plays in victories over the Cincinnati Bengals during the 2018 season.
In a 35-20 Browns win at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Njoku hauled in a six-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Baker Mayfield and gave the Browns a 21-0 lead with 9:18 to play in the second quarter.
On second-and-goal from the Cincinnati six-yard line, Mayfield took the long snap behind center and lofted a pass toward Njoku on the right side of the formation. After sealing off a block, Njoku secured the catch at the 11-yard line and turned upfield.
Njoku leapt from the five-yard line all the way to the two before he was wrapped up by a Bengals defender, but with a second effort, as well as some help from center JC Tretter and guard Kevin Zeitler, muscled his way across the goal line for the score.
In the return match, a 26-18 Cleveland win in December, the Browns faced a third-and-goal from the Cincinnati three-yard line when Mayfield took the shotgun snap and immediately looked left, where he found Njoku working against single coverage from Bengals safety Shawn Williams.
Njoku used his 6-foot-4 frame to high-point the ball and haul in his fourth touchdown reception of the season.
Then, Njoku caught a 66-yard pass late in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
To the Browns, the key is getting Njoku to be productive in more than just the passing game.
“What I’d like to see, and I’ll say it right now, ‘Improve your run blocking,’” Dorsey said. “Everything else from a pass-catching standpoint, I think David has all the elements to be a really nice pass-catching tight end who can run after the catch, so I challenge him and say, ‘You know what? Improve your run-blocking.’”
