DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum David Njoku requests trade

j/c

My first thought was that Njoku wants out because he thinks he will not get enough chances to prove/improve his worth.

My second thought was to question his competitive drive. I quickly tabled that thought because I have no way of knowing anything about his drive.

Then I thought "wasn't Rosenhaus Pryor's agent".

What I settled on is where does he think he can go and get better opportunities? He's not yet developed into a #1...not even close. He's a #2...on what appears to be a very TE friendly offense. I realize we have a slew of other weapons...but so do other teams. His GM likes him. He has a new coach and is not yet in any doghouse. He will likely open camp as the #2.

He needs a friend to set him straight.

I thought that was well put. Maybe a little competition shy? He sees what will be coming to town. If the offense achieves well, then Berea should be one fine place to be a TE.

That Pryor mention gave rise to a thought: We have the phrase 'cap casualty' describing that process. Some agents seem to delude or clients or exaggerate their worth. Maybe we need a new term for that process, something like 'agent casualty.' I have to question some motives driving situations in today's NFL conditions. JMO.

Even if his target total is only 30-40, its still enough opportunity to convince other teams of what he could do for them. If out of those targets he hauls in 5 TD's, has a handful of long gains, and can show he's a reliable 3rd and long target, he would make a strong case as a guy who would deserve an expanded role.

Possibly so, but 25-35 catches doesn't usually lead to a big contract.

j/c:

David Njoku through three seasons.

j/c

I keep seeing people speak about where players were drafted. At this point in time that makes no difference. None. It's what you've done as a pro that counts. Some teams do prefer former first round picks because at least at some point in time someone felt highly enough of their talent level to invest that highly in them.

Most coaches have an ego. They think they and they alone have the power to "fix a player" who another coach may have broken. But coaches for the most part don't make the deals. The FO does that. A FO usually doesn't overpay for a player who never lived up to the hype.

I agree, I have said that for years. You are what you are.

Just because a guy was picked early doesn't mean we should get a early pick to maintain value in a trade.

If a 7th rounder goes to the pro-bowl 3 years running, nobody is going to insist we only get a 6th or 7th round pick in return.

It is simply a matter of production and worth. It doesn't matter where they were drafted, if drafted at all.

I read somewhere that Nojoku was ranked 41st out of 41 eligible tight ends in 2018, due to his drops. 2019 rankings did not rate him, due to injury.

It was probably a Steelers' site.

If it was, they'd rank him higher in the hopes he sees the field more.

The kid is great, but he is NOT what the hype says he is.
Actually, so far, he isn't even close.

For as athletic as he is, he seems kind of lumbering to me. I don't see anything particularly dynamic when I watch him play. But he's still young and yet to see his best days. What those will be is anyone's guess.

Having said that, my mantra is and will always be you cannot have too many good players, especially in light of the inevitable injuries (unless you're the Ravens) that is par for the course in football. I hope the Browns do not give in to his demands.

I hope he is on the team this year and has a monster season. I also like drafting good football players that end up on the team for a long time.

It was Njoku's ranking based solely on drops to catchable targets.

His overall ranking by PFF in 2018 was 26/70.

He was touted as the next K2 coming out of the U.
He simply couldn't hold K2's jock right now.
He can't block; he's a pass-catching TE with bad hands.

He just doesn't have the hands or consistency.... unfortunately, he didn't even have to get stupid on a motorcycle or recover an onside kick to see the field as little as K2.

Is that like a chef who can't cook or a guitar player who can't play guitar? LOL

I see nothing close to him being "lumbering." I do see "dynamic." He flashes due to his athleticism, burst, hops, fluidity, gait, etc.

He struggles w/inconsistent hands, poor blocking techniques, route running, and coverage recognition.

Lets get an LB

Has he ever broken a tackle and taken one to the house? Has he ever outrun a D? Has he ever done anything remotely athletic to an opposing D? I don't recall any.

I don't see dynamic. And I'm a fan of Njoku. Want him on the team. But we don't have to embellish.

He’s not been an impact player. Trade him.

If we were only supposed to keep “impact” players then we’d only
Have like four players on the roster.

He mostly has been barely average, when not hurt.

To be fair, TE's don't usually outrun defenders and take it to the house.

I see it this way, the guy wants out for whatever the reason. I don't believe we were going to sign him once his contract expires. We already have a top dollar TE on the roster. We aren't going to have two.

Tell Rosenhaus to find 2 teams that wants him, then we get with those teams to talk about compensation.

It would be nice to get a 3rd, but I doubt that. We are probably looking at a mid 4th down to a top end 5th rounder.

That's ok..you can package that pick with another to move up, or you can still find good players in that range.

J/c

One thing that hasn’t been mentioned much, and who knows if it’s true ... but Dustin Fox speculated that Njoku hasn’t had the best attitude behind closed doors. Saying he’d trade him too

Since you asked nicely:

I can think of one time,, he wasn't about to be brought down,,, he was close to the Goal Line then I think it was one of our Olinemen that pushed him across the final foot or two.. But he fought like hell.,

So, yeah, he did at least once

You know what? I apologize. There were some pretty athletic moves in that highlight reel. Most were against 2018 Cincinnati, but still.

Maybe lumbering wasn't the right word I was looking for. There's something about his play that makes me think he's talented but not as talented as we were lead to believe when the Browns drafted him.

But he's also very young. I don’t want to see him traded.

I still say we just signed Hooper to 40 mil or whatever it was.

There is only so much room on the roster money wise for the TE position, we best trade him.


You can't have 2 tight ends on the team making 10 mil a year. That is simply the reality.

You have to go with one guy, the others are going to have to be bargain basement on young contracts.

Just saying.

I thought this was a nice play by Njoku - NOT.

https://brownswire.usatoday.com/2019/12/...-carl-cheffers/

Didn't we already kinda sign him for another year when his contract was due to expire? We didn't have to pick up his extension, but we did.

The 5th year option is only guaranteed for injury. Yes, we "picked it up", but we can drop it just as fast if we so desire.

Yes and he sounded excited by the extension. Then he signs with Rosenhous and three days later, he want's traded...

i've been trying to be real patient with Njoku because we've been historically bad since he was drafted.

i gave him the benefit of the doubt last year due to Baker's medicine ball he caught.

but have Hooper makes it a lot easier to say bye to him if he wants to act like this, though.

Actually this is one place where we disagree. While it wouldn't equal what we perceived his value or potential to be when he was drafted, I thiknk it matches up pretty well with what he has shown since he's been in the NFL.

I disagree.

As I have said, we just signed Hooper to a big contract. We aren't signing David to some big contract.

If we have no intention to sign him and go with people on rookie contracts....note....we drafted a rookie TE, his value to us is nothing.

Forget what round he was drafted in. That doesn't matter. What matters is what he might be worth, and it is probably a 5th round pick. Maybe 4th.

Get over we traded up to get him in the 1st round. That money is gone.


I can't tell you how many times my wife and I have paid for something several months earlier...hotel room or show of some sort, then when the date comes up we couldn't go for some reason.

That money was over the falls a few months ago. No sense worrying about it now. Just the way it goes sometimes.

We have a club here in town. I bought tickets to see Jr. Brown and tickets to see John Sebastian. The concerts were canceled and rescheduled to later this fall. Songbirds, largest private guitar collection in the world....has a great concert venue...they bring in guitar players.

We still plan to go, but if not, that money has filtered through my wallet months ago. It's been paid for and I am thinking about other things now. If we can't go, I am not going to lose sleep thinking about the $75 a ticket I spent months ago.


A sample of Jr. Brown. I know most of you don't know of him.

If we think he'll be worth significantly more next offseason, then hang onto him and trade him then. I think KS knows about how many snaps/touches Njoku is going to see (barring injury), so I think we could make an educated guess if Njoku's value is going to go up or down.

That's a scenario I can see that speaks to keeping him. That, and Njoku has 0 leverage and is pretty cheap right now.

j/c:

Now we shall see of Njoku ends up being a holdout in camp to try and force a trade.

I'm guessing the "been wanted out" extends back to his feelings from the 2019 season.

Is "been wanted out" tied to Kitchens? And is it being said to give the illusion it's not about Hooper now?