2022 Dynasty Target: David Njoku
David Njoku might be one of the sneakiest fantasy football tight end values in dynasty right now, and I am here to tell you why you should be seeking to acquire this dynasty target.
Background
David Njoku has had quite the roller coaster of a career. He landed on the Cleveland Browns in 2017 when he was drafted in the first round with the 29th overall pick. Highly touted out of the University of Miami Njoku was and remains to be one of the premier athletes at the tight end position. With his 37.5″ vertical and over 11′ broad Njoku is easily one of the most explosive tight ends in the league. Njoku’s primary criticism is that he has never had a very productive season. However, I feel he is primed for a breakout campaign in 2022. He requested a trade heading into the 2020 season after an extremely difficult 2019 season. Njoku found himself injured, (Broke his wrist in week 2) and then when he returned from injury he was underutilized by a very poor coaching staff.
That offseason the Browns brought in Austin Hooper as a free agent to bolster the position. Njoku re-dedicated himself and had one of his best seasons to date in 2021. Njoku was graded as the number 14 fantasy football tight end in the NFL by PFF in 2021. His season was so good that the Browns felt confident enough to release Austin Hooper and pay Njoku. His new contract makes him the fifth highest-paid tight end in the league with an AAV of 13.7 million according to spotrac.com.
#Browns TE David Njoku’s catch over Jabrill Peppers. pic.twitter.com/EYUAVaIOn1
— MoreForYouCleveland (@MoreForYou_CLE) August 19, 2021
Current Situation
As everyone knows the Browns’ offensive situation is rather murky due to the Watson specter hanging over them. I recommend acquiring Njoku knowing full well the Browns might have an entire season with Jacoby Brissett under center. There is a lot of conversation around the number 2 receiver race in Cleveland. Will Donovan People-Jones break out this year? Will David Bell come into the league and light it on fire? The most likely answer to that question is neither. After the departure of Austin Hooper, David Njoku will be trusted to play an extremely prominent role in this offense.
In 2021, Njoku finished with 36 receptions for 425 yards and 4 touchdowns. Considering the amount of vacated targets and the new contract for Njoku I projected him for a nice increase. Njoku enters the 2021 season as the second-highest-paid pass-catcher on the roster. All of these factors bode very well for him in 2021 and beyond
Outlook
2021 can look a bit bleak for Cleveland pass catchers, but don’t fret I am going to explain why it shouldn’t. I have compiled the past 6 years of data for the number 5 fantasy football tight. These numbers should contextualize and illustrate what fantasy success looks like for a tight end.
These projections assume an entire season of a below-average quarterback throwing him the ball. Similar to all other number 5 tight ends, Njoku is only projected for 6 touchdowns. In other words, it does not take a herculean effort to become a top 5 fantasy tight end.
For those doubting, David Njoku will prove he was worth every penny. TE1 #Browns @David_Njoku80 pic.twitter.com/SqE3RSpvXI
— Zach D 🫡 (@ZachNoah52) May 28, 2022
All of that said, this is assuming a sub-par talent at quarterback throwing Njoku the ball. In the future, David Njoku could have the rare combination of being the number 2 target on an offense and having the top 5 QB in the league. In conclusion, David Njoku has obtained 4 of the 5 infinity stones for a fantasy tight end.
- Top 5 AAV contract
- Elite Athleticism
- Top 5-10 Quarterback
- Number 2 target on an offense
Top 5 finish is the final infinity stone Njoku has to attain in order to snap himself into rarified air. I have obtained David Njoku in multiple leagues for a late 2022 second. He should still be available at that price, but in my opinion, the buy window could slam shut in 3 months. Now if someone could photoshop David Njoku’s head onto Thanos with the infinity gauntlet I would be forever indebted to you.
Thanks for checking out our article on Dynasty Target David Njoku. Over the course of the summer make sure to click here for more Dynasty Target articles discussing players for you to acquire this season
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