The 49ers have the best tight end in football at George Kittle, but were reportedly interested in adding Austin Hooper in free agency to form, arguably, the best 1-2 shot at the NFL position. . Nothing came of it, of course, since Hooper finally signed a four-year, $ 44 million contract with the Cleveland Browns in March.
Although San Francisco could never have offered Hooper such a large contract (the team has its hands full with Kittle’s upcoming deal), Hooper’s decision to sign with Cleveland could open up the possibility for the 49ers to add another talented tight end. . Ironically, that tight end goes on to play for the Browns.
For now at least.
Browns tight end David Njoku requested a trade and would like to be transferred before the start of training camp, his agent Drew Rosenhaus told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Friday. Cleveland reportedly said he would prefer to hold onto Njoku, but the fourth-year player is apparently determined.
“David is interested in finding a new team right now,” Rosenhaus told Schefter.
1/2 TE Brown, David Njoku and his agent Drew Rosenhaus asked today that the team change it. The Browns told Njoku that they would like to stay with him, but Rosenhaus told them that he intended to make an exchange. They want an exchange before training camp.
– Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 3, 2020
2/2 On David Njoku’s trade request to the Browns today, agent Drew Rosenhaus said: “It is in David’s best interest to find a new team at this time.”
– Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 3, 2020
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The motivation behind Njoku’s request, no doubt, is tied to the Browns not only signing Hooper in free agency, but also using a fourth-round pick on Harrison Bryant, who plays the same position, in the Draft. of the NFL 2020.
The timing of the request is also not a coincidence. On Wednesday, Njoku parted ways with his former agent, Malki Kawa, and signed with Rosenhaus. Last November, Rosenhaus helped organize an exchange for another of his clients, Cleveland broker Duke Johnson, after a similar request.
So clearly, Njoku is not satisfied with his current situation and wants to get out. It’s understandable, not only for the reasons mentioned above, but also for the fact that he was at Freddie Kitchens’ doghouse last season. The kitchens have since been fired and replaced by former Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, but apparently the damage has already been done.
23-year-old Njoku is coming off a bad year in which he suffered a broken wrist and concussion in Week 2. He appeared in just two more games for the rest of the season, carrying five receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown. The previous season, however, Njoku was impressive, catching 56 passes for 639 yards and four scores.
A first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Njoku is extremely athletic. It was ranked at the 98th percentile for wide jump (11 ft-1), the 97th percentile for arm length (35 1/4 inches), the 90th percentile for vertical jump (37 1/2 inches), and the percentile 80 in the 40-yard shot (4.64 seconds) in the NFL Scouting Combine.
In comparison, Kittle, who participated in the fourth round of that same draft, ran a 4.52-yard 40-yard run in almost an identical size, but otherwise performed worse than Njoku on each of those metrics. Kittle’s arm and hand lengths were also considerably shorter.
Now obviously Kittle has become a force of nature and has become the fulcrum of the 49ers’ offense. He is a versatile player far superior to Njoku at the moment, but if they played together they would both likely become even bigger mismatches than they already are.
Clearly, the 49ers like to operate in two closed sets. It allows coach Kyle Shanahan to have more creativity in his game, particularly considering Kittle’s excellence as a career blocker. Hooper’s reported pursuit certainly was with that strategy in mind, and while Njoku isn’t as good as Hooper, it could be a great addition to the San Francisco offense.
Do you remember how dominant the New England Patriots were with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez? Both extremely talented players in their own right were almost indefensible when they got together. Kittle is already at that Gronk level, but the 49ers don’t have a Hernandez guy to go with him. Njoku could be as close as possible without all the extra luggage.
Njoku will earn $ 1.8 million next season in the fourth year of his rookie contract. The Browns also picked up their fifth-year option in April, which will pay him around $ 6.4 million for the 2021 season. Although San Francisco doesn’t have a ton of cap space to work with, much has been reserved for the Kittle extension. Njoku offers cost certainty for the next two seasons at a reasonable price. If the 49ers could catch him without being forced to surrender or get rid of something of great importance, it might be worth it.
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Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot reported Friday that the Browns would likely want a first-round pick in exchange for Njoku. That is downright ridiculous, and it will never happen. They’ll be lucky to be able to pick Day 2 from any team in the league, and San Francisco wouldn’t do that either. A conditional election on day 3, perhaps? Now we are getting somewhere.
That may not be enough to acquire Njoku, but there is no reason for the 49ers to offer more than that. It would be a luxury for San Francisco, not a necessity.
