The Cleveland Browns enter this off-season with a lot of questions. Is Kevin Stefanski the right Head Coach? Is Odell on the trade block? Can Baker Mayfield rebound? Is Njoku the guy at the tight end position? Will the Browns address the horrendous offensive line that caused them to under-perform last season? While there are a lot of unanswered questions, it seems the Browns are answering the offensive line question ... sort of.
As of today, Austin Hooper, former tight end of the Atlanta Falcons, has signed with the Cleveland Browns on a 4 year, 44 million dollar deal. Hooper is set to make a guaranteed 23 million within his first two seasons; this makes him the highest paid tight end in the league. This is a big get for the Browns, and is really the first BIG signing of this off-season.
As I was saying earlier, there are a lot of questions the Browns need to ask themselves and also address, and they seem to be doing that by killing two birds with one stone: addressing the offensive line and the future of the tight end position.
Star tight end David Njoku has been a beast since getting drafted; he is a red-zone threat and a jump ball juggernaut. With that being said, there are holes in his game. Blocking and non red-zone play aren’t his strongest suits. Then, when you add the fact that he missed 12 games last year, there is definitely a big question mark on David Njoku. Maybe, just maybe, Kevin Stefanski sees that.
In Minnesota, where Stefanski was OC, he ran a two rotation tight end position with Kyle Rudolph and Irv Smith Jr. Maybe Stefanski knows Njoku’s troubles and instead of exploiting them by making him the sole tight end, you bring in a guy like Austin Hooper, who is a very well rounded product. Have Njoku and Hooper feed off one another's strengths. Hooper provides exceptional blocking and can get down to the red-zone; then you throw in Njoku for his high caliber jump ball and red-zone play making ability. With Njoku’s recent luck with injury as well, maybe taking fewer snaps would be beneficial for his career and on field production as well.
If nothing else, and that isn’t the plan, it will be a very competitive training camp when it comes to the tight end position in Cleveland. It will only elevate the two players. I would give the edge to Austin Hooper, as he is the all round better product, but David Njoku is a beast, and to count him out would be absolutely ridiculous. Only time will tell for the Stefanski era Browns.
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In other news, the Browns have released Safety Morgan Burnett and have placed a second round tender on Running Back Kareem Hunt, which means, if Kareem Hunt should sign somewhere else besides Cleveland, the Browns will receive a second round pick. Win-Win if you ask me.
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