The new front office in Cleveland came out like a wrecking ball during the first day of free agency. The emphasis couldn’t be anymore clearer as the Browns focused on offense with all three additions. The first signing agreed to was former Atlanta Falcons tight end, Austin Hooper, who earned a whopping contract that includes $44 million and $23 million guaranteed.
Name: Austin Hooper
Height: 6-4
Weight: 254 pounds
Age: 25 years old
Previous Team: Atlanta Falcons
Hooper was drafted in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft by Atlanta out of Stanford and at the time this was viewed as a steal. This has held up as true as he has already made two Pro Bowls during his four-year career. The Browns are snagging Hooper right after a season in which he accomplished career highs in catches with 76, receiving yards with 787 and touchdowns with six. He accomplished all of this in just 13 games as he suffered a knee sprain, which held him out for three weeks.
Austin Hooper has caught 93.8% of his catchable targets the past two years while hauling in 59% of his contested targets. Both rank 2nd among TEs.
— John Kosko (@JohnKosko3) March 16, 2020
Hooper has a unique ability to find ways to get open on a consistent basis and is a solid blocker when asked to do so. Many thought the Falcons would elect to franchise tag him as he was that vital to their offense, but the price was too steep. Hooper was underutilized in the red zone with Atlanta, but he has all the tools to dominate close to the end zone.
The biggest knock on Hooper is he does lack the elite strength that some of the other upper-echelon tight ends in the league. This makes him a far less devastating blocker when inline. Despite being a fantastic athlete, Hooper is often one of the last people firing off the line of scrimmage at the snap, which is frustrating but not a deal-breaker.
Overall, Hooper is one of the best all-around tight ends in the league and would easily make any top ten positional list no matter who you ask. He is still very young and will likely get better as time goes on. It appears that Cleveland has found their long term answer at a key position.
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