BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – David Njoku has learned a lot since coming to Cleveland as a young 20-year-old.
He’s grown quite a bit as a player and person too. His game ever evolving.
So what’s changed this year?
“I'd rather show you than tell you,” Njoku said Saturday morning smiling. “So, if you're at practice today you'll see.”
When the Browns gave Njoku a four-year, $54.75 contract this offseason, they sent a message of how they feel about the 2017 first-round pick and the impact they expect him to have offensively going forward.
That contract, at the time a top-5 deal at his position, raised fans expectations too in that Njoku would become the Browns’ weapon at tight end, much like Cleveland Heights native Travis Kelce is for the Chiefs.
“Kelce's Kelce, man,” Njoku said with a smile. “That's my homie, too, but he's a beast, he really is.”
The Browns won’t say it out loud, the contract does it for them – they are looking for Njoku to be their Kelce.
“Obviously, we think highly of David and think that he has a bright future ahead of him,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said.
“His game has evolved. I am really proud of him and the work that he has put in and watching his blocking develop over the course of time that I have been here. He has really bought in. He is obviously big enough and strong enough to do a lot of those jobs. That is what I am probably the most proud of him for but also recognizing that there is a ton of room to grow. I think that is the beauty of David and a lot of our players here is they have that growth mindset where they want to continually get better.”
It’s expected Njoku will get more opportunities this season as the top tight end on the roster which should translate into a significant increase in production, but Njoku isn’t just focused on his own touches this year.
“It also motivates me to help the younger guys to achieve their goals by getting better every day,” Njoku said. “I feel like when I was a rookie, I had Randall Telfer and Seth DeValve and they were great people. I feel like I can help our younger guys more in terms of just like being an overall tight end and what to think about in certain situations.”
Wish granted – Over the last few years Browns fans have bemoaned the fact there hasn’t been a logo at midfield down at FirstEnergy Stadium.
The Browns have heard your cries and Saturday afternoon they launched a fan vote for this year’s field design on the their website and mobile app through August 27.
Fans can pick from four designs, which include a midfield logo and features two different iterations of both the helmet logo and Brownie the Elf logo, and fans will decide where on the field those logos belong. They also will select whether the “BROWNS” end zone script will be colored white or orange.
Dog days commin’ – While the first four practices of camp have been on the light side – by design in accordance with the CBA, next week they’ll start to feel like camp with full pads going on Tuesday.
“There will be plenty of dog days of training camp, and it is going to be really hard and the players are not going to like me very much,” Stefanski said, “but I just feel like now is the time to ramp into this thing appropriately.”
Perfect debut – Rookie kicker Cade York made a strong first impression to fans at camp Saturday going a perfect 6-6 during a team field goal period.
York’s final kick was good by a country mile right down the middle from 48 yards. He also hit from 35, 40, 43, and 46 yards.
Chubb-a-wubb – Running back Nick Chubb was up to his usual tricks during practice Saturday bursting free for a couple of big runs during team 11-on-11 work.
With no live tackling, it’s not easy to evaluate the running game or line play but with Chubb’s reputation for trucking and blowing by defenders, we feel comfortable in saying he appears to be in midseason for already.
Third WR goes down – Undrafted rookie free agent Isaiah Weston was carted off Saturday with a knee injury.
Weston, who was understandably visibly upset as he was driven into the field house, is the second receiver in three days to suffer an injury.
Anthony Schwartz suffered a knee strain Thursday and is day-to-day.
Rookie receiver David bell is on active/PUP due to a foot injury suffered in the June minicamp.
Quote of the day – “Myles is still Myles, man. I don’t know what else could change, he can’t get much bigger. He’s not getting no smaller. He’s the same Jurassic Myles.” – Safety Grant Delpit on defensive end Myles Garrett.
Puppy pound counter – The puppy pound is back for an eighth year. Saturday 10 puppies were adopted and since the program’s launch in 2015, 635 puppies from the Northeast Ohio Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) have been adopted by Browns fans at training camp practices.
Roll call – WR David Bell (foot), T Jack Conklin (knee), DT Sheldon Day (back), WR Anthony Schwartz (knee), LB Anthony Walker Jr. (groin), CB Denzel Ward (foot), DE Stephen Weatherly (knee) and WR Javon Wims (illness) did not practice Saturday.
Up next – Players are off Sunday. Camp resumes Monday afternoon at 2.