David Njoku taking 'the next step' in career, bond with Deshaun Watson in Browns offense
PHILADELPHIA — There's always been a lot of talk about David Njoku. Some of that even comes from someone other than the Browns' tight end.
There was a time where such chatter would've induced eyerolls from many. It was always a waiting game for when the 2017 first-round pick was going to match production with the prodigious talent he possesses.
That time may be now. After what could best be called the best season of his career to date last season, nothing Njoku has done this preseason indicates a step backward.
"Just the next step," Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said earlier this week. "He's doing everything he's supposed to do in the run game, the pass game, as you know. I think Deshaun (Watson) and David have a good rapport and we'll always continue to build off of that.”
No one is more confident in Njoku than Njoku himself. A question if his sensational one-handed touchdown grab to force overtime in a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was the best of his career elicited the response, "My career isn't over yet."
It may just be taking off. Njoku's coming off a season in which he had a career-high 58 catches for 628 yards, just 11 shy of a career best, and a career-high-tying four touchdowns.
That was all done while missing three full games due to a pair of injuries. One of those, which came in Week 7, brought a halt to arguably the best five-game stretch of his career with 30 catches for 379 yards and a touchdown.
"Every offseason you have a chip on your shoulder to be a better athlete or a better player than you were previously," Njoku said early in training camp. "And I feel like this year, not just myself, but a bunch of the guys, especially on offense, I don't really know much more about defense, but we really took it upon ourselves to figure it out. And have we figured it all out yet? No. Every day we're trying to get better and better, but we're working hard."
It's been well-documented what Njoku may have in the quarterback throwing him the ball. Watson's affinity for finding tight ends has been one of the traits most discussed since the Browns acquired him from the Houston Texans last year.
Njoku was one of Watson's favorite targets once the quarterback came back from his 11-game suspension last season. He targeted the tight end 28 times over five games — Njoku missed Watson's return in Week 13 at Houston — for 17 receptions and 164 yards with two touchdowns.
The two's bond has only gone up over the course of both the offseason and, now, preseason.
“Yeah, I think that just falls on chemistry," Njoku said. "Something that we've been working on a lot, especially this off season, was chemistry, so just knowing what each of us were thinking at that exact second, at that exact instinct, it helps a lot. It goes a long way.”
That work went beyond anything mandated by the Browns themselves. The quarterback and the tight end were together for multiple offseason workouts outside of the team's purview.
They were together when Watson put together a junket to Puerto Rico in May. They also spent time in July working out at Njoku's alma mater, the University of Miami, with other South Florida-based teammates like Amari Cooper and Elijah Moore.
“I feel like we have a better understanding of how we think, how each of us thinks when it comes to tight ends, quarterbacks; tight ends, receivers; receivers, quarterbacks," Njoku said. "We know. We know what each other, we're thinking together. I think that helps a lot."
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: David Njoku taking 'next step' in bond with Browns QB Deshaun Watson
