Njoku's 10.1 PPR points per game in 2022 felt like a breakout campaign, even if the numbers didn't make anyone's eyeballs pop out of their sockets. This year Njoku will be tasked with being just as efficient, but his target share (5.7 per game) isn't promised given the additions to the Cleveland offense. He also averaged a mere 9.1 PPR points per game in five outings with Deshaun Watson, who has never shown a tendency to overtarget his tight ends. Njoku is a risky Fantasy draft pick, especially if it's before the likes of Pat Freiermuth or Dalton Schultz. Round 11 is the earliest he should be picked, particularly since his matchups in Weeks 2, 3 and 4 aren't particularly attractive.
Njoku has been held to four targets, four catches and 48 yards or less in every game this season. He hasn't scored a touchdown, and he hasn't eclipsed 6.8 PPR points. I don't expect him to have a breakout game against the Ravens in Week 4, and Baltimore has allowed its opposing tight ends from Houston, Cincinnati and Indianapolis to catch just eight passes for 45 yards on the season. Granted, that's a mediocre group of tight ends, but Njoku only had three catches for 28 yards on six targets against the Ravens in Week 15 last year.
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Browns' David Njoku: Targeted four times
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Njoku caught all four of his targets for 20 yards in Sunday's 27-3 win over the Titans.
Njoku once again paced Cleveland's tight ends and was targeted four times for a second straight week. He's yet to have a breakout game with just 92 receiving yards, one reception of more than 20 yards, and zero touchdowns through three games. Quarterback Deshaun Watson had his best day in a Browns' uniform Sunday, but he directed more than half of his throws to wideouts Elijah Moore (nine targets) and Amari Cooper (eight).
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Browns' David Njoku: Serviceable fantasy effort in loss
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Njoku secured all four targets for 48 yards in the Browns' 26-22 loss to the Steelers on Monday night. He also lost a fumble.
Njoku finished second in receptions and receiving yards to Amari Cooper on the night, coming on in the second half after a slow start. Njoku's numbers were modest overall, but they still represented exactly double the production the veteran tight end generated in Week 1. He could take on an even more important role beginning with a favorable Week 3 home matchup against the Titans now that star running back Nick Chubb is confirmed to be out for the season with a knee injury, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
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Browns' David Njoku: Quiet opener
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Njoku caught two of three targets for 24 yards in Sunday's 24-3 win over Cincinnati in Week 1.
Njoku reportedly had a huge training camp, catching everything thrown his way, but the passing attack heavily favored the wideouts Sunday as wide receivers gobbled up 66 percent of the targets compared to the tight ends' 21 percent. Making matters worse for Njoku, it was backup tight end Harrison Bryant who caught a red-zone touchdown in the fourth quarter. Still, Njoku (52 snaps) was the clear No. 1 among the position group, doubling the snap count of Bryant (27) and Jordan Akins (23).
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Browns' David Njoku: Top DFS Play
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Kevin Stefanski's offense has traditionally delivered a 26% target share to tight ends and Deshaun Watson was at 22% last year. That should play very well in a shootout against the Bengals. Njoku is my best value on the slate and as a bonus, he's also going to be contrarian. I like him most as a bring back in a Burrow-Chase stack.
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Browns' David Njoku: TEs to Start
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The Bengals lost both starting safeties from last year with Vonn Bell and Jessie Bates gone, and we'll see how the revamped secondary in Cincinnati does trying to stop Njoku this week. Maybe Njoku liked the previous safeties because in his lone meeting with the Bengals in Week 14 he caught 7-of-9 targets for 59 yards and a touchdown from Deshaun Watson. The two could hook up for quality numbers again in Week 1, and Njoku has top-five upside in all leagues.
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Browns' David Njoku: Plays Friday
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Njoku caught his lone target for one yard in Friday's preseason game against Washington.
Njoku started and was on the field for Cleveland's first drive, the lone possession with starting quarterback Deshaun Watson under center. Both Njoku and backup tight end Jordan Akins were targeted on the drive. Watson and Njoku have been on the same page during camp, per Zac Jackson of The Athletic, and the Browns see him running more than traditional tight end routes. Coaches feel he can make an impact from all over the formation and see Njoku turning screens into big gains.
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Browns' David Njoku: Shines in camp Saturday
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Njoku had his best day of training camp Saturday, Anthony Poisal of the Browns' official site reports.
Poisal reports Njoku making several highlight-reel grabs, including a one-handed reception, catching off-target passes and a contested catch in the end zone. Njoku is expected to be the team's top tight end this season for an offense that likely will be more pass oriented than it was in 2022.
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Browns' David Njoku: Closes season with touchdown
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Njoku recorded four receptions on five targets for 42 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 28-14 loss to the Steelers.
Njoku finished second on the team in both targets and receptions behind only Nick Chubb. He hauled in a 10-yard touchdown pass midway through the second quarter to tally the first score by either team in the game. With Sunday's effort, Njoku will close the 2022 season with a career-high 58 receptions despite playing in only 14 games. He'll likely continue to see a significant role in the offense in 2023, pairing with Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones as the Browns' top pass catchers.
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Browns' David Njoku: Quiet in win
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Njoku caught one of three targets for 21 yards in Sunday's 24-10 win over the Commanders.
It was a quiet volume day for the passing attack despite quarterback Deshaun Watson throwing for three touchdowns. Watson attempted just 18 throws, and Njoku had his fewest targets since Week 11. A positive sign for Cleveland's receivers is that Watson looked more like the quarterback he was in Houston during the second half Sunday, completing six of 10 passes for 146 yards and all three TDs.
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Browns' David Njoku: Two catches in loss
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Njoku secured two of five targets for 14 yards in the Browns' 17-10 loss to the Saints on Saturday.
Njoku turned in a modest performance on a day that wasn't exactly conducive to the passing game, with Amari Cooper the only member of the air attack to put up fantasy-worthy numbers. The veteran tight end still managed to extend his multi-catch streak to 11 games, and he'll have a better matchup overall against the Commanders on the road in a Week 17 clash on Sunday, Jan. 1.
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Browns' David Njoku: Bust Alert (Start/Sit)
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With the weather expected to be bad in Cleveland due to the wind and snow, you might consider benching Njoku in the majority of leagues. It doesn't help that the Saints are No. 1 in fewest Fantasy points allowed to opposing tight ends this season and have allowed just two touchdowns to the position. And Cade Otton in Week 13 is the lone tight end with more than nine PPR points against New Orleans this year. Njoku has at least 13 PPR points in two of three games with Deshaun Watson, but this week there could be a letdown given the opponent and the weather.
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Browns' David Njoku: Good to go Saturday
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Njoku (knee) doesn't carry an injury designation for Saturday's game against the Saints after logging a full practice listing Thursday, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.
Njoku's practice reps were limited Tuesday and Wednesday, but the tight end's return to a full session Thursday has him ready to go for Saturday's contest. Through 11 games to date, Njoku has recorded a 51/551/3 stat line on 67 targets, a pace that keeps the 2017 first-rounder on the fantasy lineup radar this weekend while facing a New Orleans defense that has allowed an average of 195.1 passing yards thus far.
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Browns' David Njoku: Limited in practice again
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Njoku (knee) was a limited practice participant Wednesday, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
The same was true Tuesday, as the Browns have continued to list Njoku on their injury reports with the knee issue ever since he sat out the team's Week 13 win over the Texans. He's proceeded to play 96 and 94 percent of snaps in the two games since, and he should get plenty of playing time this Saturday against the Saints, albeit in a game that may not have many pass attempts due to bad weather.
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Browns' David Njoku: Listed as limited
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Njoku (knee) is listed as a limited participant on Tuesday's practice estimate, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.
Two separate knee injuries have cost Njoku time this season, including a Week 13 absence, but he played 96 and 94 percent of offensive snaps the past two games en route to 10 catches for 87 yards and a touchdown on 15 targets. The workload checks out and seemingly makes him a solid TE1 for fantasy, except that the Browns offense has struggled with QB Deshaun Watson and now faces some ugly weather in Cleveland this weekend unless forecasts drastically change. Projections as of Tuesday called for the type of wind and precipitation that would make it hard to confidently start any QBs, WRs or TEs in the game.
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Browns' David Njoku: Musters only 28 yards
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Njoku recorded three catches on six targets for 28 yards in Saturday's 13-3 win over the Ravens.
Njoku tied Amari Cooper for the team lead in targets, though he couldn't take advantage of his opportunity. His longest catch of the day went for only 13 yards, and he now has under 30 receiving yards in three of his last four games. Despite the lack of production, Njoku has racked up 25 targets in that span, a good indication that he remains heavily involved in the Cleveland offense.
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Browns' David Njoku: Limited again Wednesday
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Njoku (knee) was a limited practice participant Wednesday, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.
Njoku was listed as a limited practice participant for the first two days of practice in Week 14, just as he has been so far in Week 15. If last week is any indication, Njoku will take part in the Browns' final practice of Week 15 prep Thursday before heading into Saturday's game against the Ravens minus a designation. Given that he played 67 snaps and drew nine targets in the Week 14 loss to the Bengals, Njoku will likely handle a three-down workload once again this weekend.
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Browns' David Njoku: Estimated as limited participant
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The Browns listed Njoku (knee) as a limited participant on Tuesday's estimated practice report, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.
Cleveland won't get back on the practice field until Wednesday, but because the team plays on Saturday in Week 15, the team had to issue its first official practice report Tuesday. Njoku may have his reps capped when the Browns actually return to the field Wednesday, but assuming he didn't suffer any setbacks with his knee during this past Sunday's loss to the Bengals, the tight end should be good to go this weekend versus the Ravens. Njoku has demonstrated an early rapport with Deshaun Watson, compiling 12 receptions for 88 yards and two touchdowns on 16 targets since the quarterback debuted two games ago.
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Browns' David Njoku: Finds end zone in return
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Njoku caught seven of nine targets for 59 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 23-10 loss to the Bengals. He added one rushing attempts for minus-2 yards.
After missing the previous game due to a knee injury, Njoku showed instant chemistry with quarterback Deshaun Watson in their first game together. The pair linked up for a 13-yard touchdown in the third quarter, and Njoku's nine targets marked his second-highest total of the season. Njoku will look to build on this strong effort in Week 15 against the Ravens.
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Browns' David Njoku: Sleeper TEs
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Njoku will return from the one-game absence he had in Week 13 with a knee injury to face the Bengals this week. He doesn't have an easy matchup, but Njoku is still worth using as a low-end No. 1 tight end in all leagues. He missed the first game with Cincinnati in Week 8 due to an ankle injury, and we'll see how he does with Deshaun Watson under center since this is their first game together. Njoku could benefit if Amari Cooper (hip) is out, and Cooper missed practice Friday. The last time we saw Njoku he had five catches for 29 yards and a touchdown on seven targets against Tampa Bay in Week 12, and he has scored at least 10 PPR points in five of his past seven games going back to Week 3.
