David Njoku
David Njoku
 Njoku in 2018 | |||||||||
| No. 85 –Cleveland Browns | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Tight end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | July 10, 1996 Cedar Grove, New Jersey | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 246 lb (112 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Cedar Grove (Cedar Grove, New Jersey) | ||||||||
| College: | Miami (FL) | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2017 / Round: 1 / Pick: 29 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Roster status: | Injured reserve | ||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2018 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Receptions: | 88 | ||||||||
| Receiving yards: | 1,025 | ||||||||
| Receiving touchdowns: | 8 | ||||||||
| Player stats at **NFL.com [23] ** | |||||||||
David Njoku (born July 10, 1996) is an American football tight end for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Miami, and was drafted by the Browns in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Njoku in 2018 | |||||||||
| No. 85 –Cleveland Browns | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Tight end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | July 10, 1996 Cedar Grove, New Jersey | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 246 lb (112 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Cedar Grove (Cedar Grove, New Jersey) | ||||||||
| College: | Miami (FL) | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2017 / Round: 1 / Pick: 29 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Roster status: | Injured reserve | ||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2018 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Receptions: | 88 | ||||||||
| Receiving yards: | 1,025 | ||||||||
| Receiving touchdowns: | 8 | ||||||||
| Player stats at **NFL.com [23] ** | |||||||||
Early years
Njoku is one of nine children born to Nigerian parents who immigrated to the United States.[1] He attended Cedar Grove High School in Cedar Grove, New Jersey. During his career, he had 76 receptions for 1,794 yards and 19 touchdowns. He committed to the University of Miami to play college football.[2][3] Njoku also competed in the high jump in high school, winning the national championship at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor his senior year in 2014.[4][1]
College career
After redshirting his first year at Miami in 2014, Njoku played in all 13 games with four starts in 2015 and had 21 receptions for 362 yards and one touchdown.[5] In 2016, he had 43 receptions for 698 yards and eight touchdowns.[6] After the season, Njoku decided to forgo his remaining two years of eligibility and enter the 2017 NFL Draft.[7][8]
College statistics
| Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | GP | Rec | Yards | TDs |
| 2015 | Miami | 13 | 21 | 362 | 1 |
| 2016 | Miami | 12 | 43 | 698 | 8 |
| College Totals | 25 | 64 | 1,060 | 9 | |
Source:[9]
Professional career
Njoku received an invitation to the NFL Combine and completed all of the combine and positional drills. In addition, he attended Miami's Pro Day and opted to again perform the vertical jump, broad jump, short shuttle, 40-yard dash, 20-yard dash, and 10-yard dash. NFL draft experts and analysts projected Njoku to be selected in the first round of the draft. He was ranked the third best tight end available in the draft by Sports Illustrated and was ranked the second best tight end by ESPN, NFL analyst Mike Mayock, and NFL analyst Bucky Brooks.[10][11][12][13]
The Cleveland Browns selected Njoku in the first round (29th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft.[16] He was the third tight end to be selected in the draft.
On June 15, 2017, the Cleveland Browns signed Njoku to a fully guaranteed, four-year, $9.52 million contract which included a signing bonus of $5.06 million.[17]
On September 10, Njoku made his NFL debut in a 21–18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He had two receptions for 20 yards.[18] in the Week 2 game against the Baltimore Ravens, he had three receptions for 27 yards and his first NFL touchdown in the 24–10 loss.[19] He finished his rookie year with 32 catches for 386 yards and four touchdowns.
In 2018, Njoku entered the season as the Browns starting tight end. He played in all 16 games with 14 starts, recording 56 catches for 639 yards and four touchdowns.
In Week 2 of the 2019 season, Njoku was upended and landed on his head and left the game due to a concussion. However later in the week, it was revealed that Njoku suffered a broken wrist on the same play. He was placed on injured reserve on September 20, 2019.[20]
Career statistics
Regular season
| Season | Team | GP | GS | Receiving | Rushing | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tgt | Rec | Yards | Y/R | Y/G | TDs | Rush | Yards | Y/A | Y/G | TDs | Fmb | ||||
| 2017 | CLE | 16 | 5 | 60 | 32 | 386 | 12.1 | 24.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.06 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | CLE | 16 | 14 | 88 | 56 | 639 | 11.4 | 39.9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 32 | 19 | 148 | 88 | 1,025 | 11.6 | 32.0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | .03 | 0 | 0 | |