Thread by @DFBeanCounter

Ok, so it has come to my attention that David Njoku is currently TE27 per @DLFootball startup ADP.

This is blasphemy.

(thread)

Njoku has an elite college profile.

Terrific athleticism, Good size, and across the board productive.

Also productive from a market share of receiving yards perspective.

Per pro football reference he actually played WR his first season and then switched to TE in 2016.

Then was drafted in the first round of the NFL draft as a TE after a single season at TE.

So then what happened when he got to the NFL?

His rookie season he came out and put up a so-so total of 386 yards at AGE 21 with superstar DeShone Kizer under center... #sarcasm

The team as a whole passed for 3,537 yards. To say the pie was small would be accurate.

As a 21 year old rookie he was 3rd on the team in receiving yards and only 9 yards short of 2nd.

That offense was terrible.

He was moderately efficient when looking at Yards per Pass Route.

Right along side two guys that went on to be top TE's in the NFL.

Then in 2018 Baker Mayfield arrived via the 1st pick overall in the draft and the offense got a shot in the arm increasing to 4,261 total passing yards.

Njoku was again heavily involved finishing second on the team

His target share went from 10.6% to 16.90%

His 10.6% as a rookie is pretty remarkable especially when you consider he was among the youngest rookie TE's in recent memory and it was his second season playing the position.

That being said, super weak depth chart. lol

His 16.90% target share in 2018 puts him in highly productive TE range.

And then he was injured pretty much the entire season in 2019.

But he did play week 1 at full capability and saw 6 targets.

Then in week 2 he only ran 4 routes but he saw a target on one of them.

It looked as though he was a big part of the Browns plans to begin the season

Then somehow he ran 2 routes and saw 3 targets in his triumphant (sarcasm) return to the lineup in week 14.

Must have caught a dump off in a scramble or something.

Basically he wasnt used upon returning haha

So lets look at how some of the superstars from the recent past fared in their first and second seasons in terms of fantasy seasons.

Yup, Njoku was on track.

Then lets look at how old they were by comparison. This was from last off-season and was looking to the 2019 season.

Most of the superstar TE's of our era were still in college at age 22 while Njoku was out here putting up a TE8 season.

And then he got hurt and the Browns have seemingly moved on.

I get it. He SHOULD fall in your dynasty rankings because we cannot project any type of consistent fantasy production in 2020 with Austin Hooper in town on a fat free agent contract.

But not now doesnt mean not ever.

At TE27 prices there are several tight ends that are also not projected to do much this season that are going higher than him.

Once you get outside of the range of guys that have a realistic chance of having a TE1 season THIS year, David Njoku should be the next TE you are selecting.

At the TE position especially, ceiling matters and Njoku's ceiling is still sky high. You'll just have to wait for it...

Needless to say, I have him ranked well ahead of TE27 in my dynasty rankings on patreon.