Cleveland Browns TE David Njoku really took off over the second half of last season. With increased target competition from his wide receivers, will Njoku remain the clear second option in the passing game behind Amari Cooper? Or should fantasy football managers let someone else draft the talented tight end?
David Njoku’s 2024 Fantasy Outlook
Can you believe Njoku has been in the NFL for eight years already? The wildest part: He’s only 28 years old.
Ever since this super athlete entered the NFL, there have been talks of “this is the year” he breaks out. For six years, it kept not happening. At some point, we need to accept it is not happening. At least, that’s what I would’ve told you last year. Then, 2023 happened.
If you look at Njoku’s overall numbers, they’re not overly impressive. He averaged 12.6 fantasy points per game. That’s very good. It’s a career-best for him, but by no means is that moving the needle. However, a deeper dive into his 2023 season reveals a much better player.
Joe Flacco finds a WIDE open David Njoku for the 1st TD of the day 👀#DawgPound | #NFL
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) December 10, 2023
Njoku didn’t really “average” 12.6 fantasy points per game. From Weeks 1-7, he averaged 7.3 fantasy points per game. He had absolutely no fantasy value, and you were justified in dropping him. Then, beginning in Week 8, a switch flipped. Overnight, Njoku went from an irrelevant fantasy asset to an elite TE1.
From Week 8 through the end of the season, Njoku averaged 15.8 fantasy points per game. He was the No. 1 overall tight end over that span. Yes, Joe Flacco definitely helped, but Flacco didn’t play a snap until Week 13. Njoku was already on his rocket ship well before then.
Not only was Njoku a TE1, but he was also a league winner. In Weeks 14-17, the most important weeks of the fantasy season, Njoku posted games of 27.1, 26.4, 16.4, and 17.4.
Njoku led all tight ends in yards after the catch and commanded a target on an impressive 24.7% of his routes run. He was the clear second option in the passing game behind Cooper.
Should You Draft Njoku in 2024 Best Ball Leagues?
The Browns have made some changes for the 2024 season, though. They are going back to Deshaun Watson as the starter (which is completely understandable). They also brought in Jerry Jeudy to presumably be their WR2. While Jeudy isn’t exactly the most imposing of target competition, he’s certainly better than Elijah Moore and definitely more of a threat to Njoku’s target share.
KEEP READING: Best Ball Fantasy TE Rankings 2024
With that said, Njoku’s price in Best Ball drafts does not really reflect the second half of the 2023 season at all. He’s going as the TE10. Now, I’m not saying he should be going ahead of the likes of Kyle Pitts, Dalton Kincaid, or George Kittle, but are we sure he should be going behind them? And not just behind them … way behind them.
At his current price, Njoku doesn’t even have to be a difference-maker at the position to justify drafting him. He just needs to get to 10 fantasy points per game. I’m pretty confident that’s his floor. As a result, if Njoku’s price doesn’t increase, he is someone fantasy managers should be looking at later in drafts.