Browns Training Camp Preview: Rookie Tight End Poised For Pivotal Role

What To Know

Given the state of the Browns wide receiver room, with inexperience aplenty after Jerry Jeudy and Diontate Johnson and no real slot receiver options of significance, the presence of Njoku and Fannin Jr. on this roster is immensely valuable. Both are likely to see a wealth of playing time in the reinvented Stefanski offense.

Njoku is hoping to produce a bounce-back season. After being selected to his first Pro Bowl in 2023, injuries essentially robbed him of a productive encore campaign in 2024. Now he's staring down the barrel of a contract year, needing to prove he's worthy of a second extension in Cleveland.

Njoku is obviously a threat as a pass catcher, but his elite blocking ability will make him immensely valuable as an inline guy closer to the line of scrimmage. Conversely, that should pave the way for Fannin Jr. to step out into the slot and be a downfield weapon for whichever QB is starting come Week 1.

One peak at Fannin's college tape reveals just how effective he is as a pass catcher. That aforementioned lack of experience at wide receiver, specifically in the slot should leave the Canton native with a wealth of opportunities to make an immediate impact in year one. He may even establish himself as the team's future at the position and make parting ways with Njoku more digestible next offseason.

Beyond that, Blake Whiteheart comes into focus. He had a few moments last year, including catching his first career touchdown pass against the Raiders. Given Stefanski's affinity for 12 personnel, he is poised to make this team.

Could there be room for a fourth tight end to make the 53-man roster at some point? The only other time Stefanski entered the season with four on the active roster was 2020. So, perhaps going back to an earlier version of his offense paves the way for some previous roster quirks as well.

What's the Word?

Tight end coach Christian Jones on the importance of the tight end position under Kevin Stefanski:

"You have to be involved in every aspect of the offense and typically don't have as much meeting time as quarterbacks would get. When special teams are going on, the tight ends are in special teams meetings, so you have to be really efficient with your time and typically the tight ends have to be really smart. They have to be able to digest everything quickly and apply that on the field and they have to do a lot of studying on their own. So you got to find guys who are self-sufficient, want to work, will look for you to work but also will do it on their own as well. So it takes a lot of work in the building and outside, I would say."