Browns roster, offense look great, except for one concern

The Cleveland Browns are gearing up for the upcoming season with training camp right around the corner. The defensive side of the ball was elite last year and finished in the Top-5 in most categories. With the re-signing of several key veterans and inking a few new players during the free agency period, this should continue for Jim Schwartz’s group.

The offensive side of the ball has only one change, well….maybe.

Receiver Jerry Jeudy was brought to the roster via a trade with the Denver Broncos, and his contract was extended to keep him in-house for more than a year.

But is this the only new face in the starting lineup? The Browns have three starting-caliber offensive tackles in Jack Conklin, Jed Wills, and Dawand Jones. If Jones becomes a starter, that will make a new starter at one of the tackle positions.

Running back Nick Chubb won’t be ready for Week 1 so his successor will be determined in training camp. That could make three new starters to begin the year.

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Not to mention the offensive coaches that are new (or in a new position) this year: TE coach Tommy Rees, OL coach Andy Dickerson, Assistant OL coach Roy Istvan, OC Ken Dorsey, Coaching and personnel consultant Mike Vrabel, and RB coach Duce Staley.

But there is a glaring problem intermingled within the offensive unit. It lays in waiting and hopefully does not show its ugly face this season.

Exactly what is this wrong? Backup tight end.

David Njoku had a breakout year last season. He was an integral part of the offensive game plan every week. He has always been a very good receiver and after learning how to block, he has become a solid player who can help in the run game as well as the passing attack.

Exactly how important Njoku is to this offense, consider this: last year he had 123 targets. Let that marinate a bit. Only Amari Cooper had more with 128. Njoku’s 81 receptions led the Browns in 2023 and he had the most touchdown catches with six. His 123 targets were the third most for a tight end in the NFL while his total receptions ranked #5.

Njoku (6’-4, 246 pounds) has proven to be a good blocking tight end having learned it just a few years ago, is a very good jumper as evidenced by his 40” vertical leap and a broad jump of 11’-1”, and is considered a complete player.

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He is also one of nine children whose parents immigrated from Nigeria to New Jersey. Njoku won the national championship in the high jump in high school at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor in his senior year. He was named a Nigerian chief in his familial village, Umuozu, in Nawangele in the 2022 offseason. The Browns were awarded international marketing rights to Nigeria this winter.

But Njoku has been injured quite a bit since he was drafted by Cleveland.

In his rookie season, he missed some training camp and one preseason game with an unspecified lower back issue. In 2019, he suffered a concussion during the Week 2 victory over the New York Jets which caused him to miss two games. More importantly in that Jets game, he fractured his wrist and landed on IR for 10 games. Then in 2022, he had a high ankle sprain Grade 3, and later in the year, Njoku was hurt while making a one-handed grab in Week 12 which turned out to be a knee strain Grade 1. He missed one game with this injury.

DraftSharks.com projects Njoku to miss 1.4 games this year with a 4.2% chance of injury per game.

It was surprising to see him not become injured at all in 2023 with him playing 970 snaps, or 78.23% of all offensive plays. And with an entire season healthy, he had his best year to date in targets, receptions, touchdowns, and yardage. Plus, he was named to his first Pro Bowl.

The Browns’ offense is dependent on the tight end being able to go into those soft zones for short passes and help with the running game blocking at the line and the second level.

Njoku’s value is on full display after he catches the ball. He has an instinct that can dodge defenders and will run over a safety if they are in his way. He was ranked #6 among tight ends in the league in yards after contact with a 10.9-yard average.

Behind him?

Well, that is another issue.

The leader to grab the TE2 spot is veteran Jordan Akins (6’-4”, 245 pounds). He came to Cleveland last year during the free agency period and signed a two-year, $3.9 million deal. It came with a $630,000 signing bonus and $1,730,000 guaranteed.

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Jordan had been QB Deshaun Watson’s teammate with the Houston Texans. In 2020, Watson threw for 4,823 yards with 33 touchdowns, was named the NFL passing yards leader, and earned his third consecutive Pro Bowl. It just so happens that Akins had one of his best receiving years that season and had 52 first-down passing conversions for the past three seasons the duo were together.

With this familiarity, GM Andrew Berry inked Akins as a dependable blocker and an aid for Watson.

Akins had an exceptional college career at UCF and was recently named to the American Conference’s Fifth Anniversary Team.

But last year was not great for Akins nor his backup Harrison Bryant. Akins gained just 132 yards on 15 receptions with 23 targets and zero touchdowns. Bryant, once the Mackey Award winner for the best tight end in college football, ended up with a paltry 81 yards on 13 receptions, 20 targets, and three scores. Bryant was not re-signed this off-season and has since signed a one-year prove-it deal with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Also on the roster are Giovanni Ricci, Zaire Mitchell-Paden, and undrafted rookie free agent Treyton Welch.

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Like Akins, Ricci (6’-3”, 240 pounds) is a veteran. He went undrafted in 2020 after being named First Team All-MAC his senior year out of Western Michigan. He spent four seasons with the Carolina Panthers with one on the practice squad and three years on the active roster. Ricci played in 36 games with four starts. He has just nine receptions for 102 yards, three first-down conversions, and zero touchdowns. He is on a one-year deal for $1.105 million with $50,000 guaranteed.

Mitchell-Paden (6’-5”, 257 pounds) had a limited college career, in that he basically had one year. His numbers were seven starts with nine receptions for 90 yards and one score. He is a very athletic player who previously played four years at D-2 Notre Dame College. Undrafted, the Browns gave him a $10,000 signing bonus and a $25,000 base salary guarantee so the scouts must have seen something they liked despite limited production in college. Then transferred to Florida Atlantic.

A former basketball standout in high school, Mitchell-Paden showed skill and abilities and was offered a football scholarship at NDC. He displays untapped potential but is raw. He needs to redefine his technique and mental awareness more but will work hard. A film junky, Mitchell-Paden has an uphill climb in the tight end room but is a mismatch with linebackers. He is on a one-year deal for the NFL minimum of $795,000 with no guarantees.

Treyton Welch (6’-3”, 233 pounds) is an undrafted rookie free agent out of Wyoming. Word is at the conclusion of the draft, half of the league reached out to him and he chose Cleveland. He subsequently signed a one-year deal worth $795,000 with a signing bonus of $15,000.

In his college career, Welch had 77 receptions for 874 yards, an 11.4 yards per catch average, and scored nine touchdowns. His blocking abilities are what really set him apart, and with a run-happy offense at Wyoming, that was needed every game.

College coaches on opposing teams often raved about Welch’s sure hands and ability to snag passes in traffic. He has a dedication to blocking which helped lead a pair of Wyoming running backs to 1,000-yard seasons. Welch was a pass-catching stud in high school and is probably an untapped resource going forward in the Browns passing game.

Maybe another warm body?

The problem with this group is Njoku has had a history of injuries that have had him miss a few games here and there. That is when the TE2 position is the most crucial. Besides the 10-game situation he experienced in 2019, Njoku’s absence alters the dynamics of the game plan.

Akins has not proved he can provide any production to the passing game. He is a very good blocker, but as a pass catcher, he hasn’t offered much. Last year he played in just 18.63% of offensive snaps, which is not surprising since Njoku played almost every play. And Akins yards-after-contact are horrible. His fantasy football stats were 1.7 points per game and was rarely on any owner’s roster or bench.

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The other three will fight it out for the TE3 position which is one injury away from being the backup. This will become a crucial spot for the coaching staff to fill. As long as Njoku remains healthy and plays the entire season once again, all of this is moot.

Mitchell-Paden hasn’t played a snap for the Browns during the regular season in the two years he’s been around the team. Ricci has played four NFL seasons with very limited production and cannot operate as a receiver on the line of scrimmage. Akins cannot play inline. And Welch is not only a rookie, but an undrafted player.

There is one other tight end to consider: signing Jace Sternberger of the UFL’s Birmingham Stallions.

Sternberger (6’-4, 250 pounds) is another veteran player. He was selected as the starting tight end on the inaugural All-UFL Team this season which is the second consecutive year he has been named to the league All-Star team.

LINK: ALL- UFL TEAM

He finished sixth in the league in yards with 454 yards and led all tight ends in average yards per reception with an 18.2-yard average. Sternberger also had 42 targets with four touchdowns and is known for being a good blocker.

Photo by CJ Halloran/UFL/Getty Images

In the USFL last year with Birmingham, Sternberger had the fourth most receiving yards with 517 with seven touchdowns, 50 targets, a 15.7 yards per reception average, and was the USFL receiving touchdowns leader. He was also named to the All-USFL Team.

Originally a third-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers in 2019 after being named Consensus All-American and First Team All-SEC his senior year at Texas A&M. He played in 18 NFL games with the Packers with one start. His 40 time is 4.75.

If Njoku misses time, Cleveland will lack a capable backup that can come in and produce during his downtime. The Browns must find a capable backup for him before the season begins.