It raised some eyebrows when the Cleveland Browns drafted Florida Atlantic tight end Harrison Bryant in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft on Saturday. After already signing Austin Hooper to the biggest contract ever for a tight end this offseason, adding the Mackey Award-winning Bryant, the nation’s leader in receptions and yards by a tight end in 2019, makes for a crowded room with former first-round pick David Njoku still around.
Njoku’s future is something that has been cast into doubt in the past as well, but both GM Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski once again reaffirmed their commitment and pleasure at keeping the enigmatic Njoku on the roster.
“We still have a ton of belief in David,” Berry said of Njoku in his post-draft teleconference. “He’s a guy with outstanding physical tools. We still think the future’s very bright for him. We see David as part of our long-term plans”.
Coach Stefanski offered more detail. He noted how he has a plan to incorporate the particular set of skills that Hooper, Njoku and Bryant each bring to the offense.
“I really think there’s a way to get all these guys on the field, sometimes at the same time,’’ he said. “Sometimes not. There’s versatility in that position. Being able to move guys around the formation is a very big deal. … Sometimes you go into a game and you like to keep them in their base scheme three linebackers on the field, keep them out of their nickel sub-packages, which can a lot of times bring some exotic pressure.’’
While serving as the offensive coordinator in Minnesota, Stefanski’s offense often deployed two tight ends and did use packages with three. The second tight end saw more passing targets than the No. 3 wide receiver in both 2018 and 2019.