David Njoku had a game changing performance in the Cleveland Browns victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The offense needs him to continue to have a major impact to finish out the season.
David Njoku’s performance just in the first half against the Jacksonville Jaguars demonstrated how good he can be and how badly the Cleveland Browns need production from receiving threats other than Amari Cooper. Given some of the challenges the offense now faces, the Browns need Njoku to have a major impact if the offense is going to remain competitive for the rest of this season.
Njoku’s a big ball of talent. He’s powerful with tremendous speed and looks like he should take over any game he’s playing. However, even as he has continued to improve over the course of his career, he can still be maddeningly inconsistent.
For example, the Jaguars game was Njoku’s first game with multiple touchdowns in his career. Frankly, that’s surprising. However, he could’ve had two touchdowns against the Denver Broncos two weeks prior.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw two beautiful passes to Njoku in the red zone, but he could not reel them in. Neither was easy, as both were contested, but they are plays that separate good from great. He just needs to find a way to make a higher percentage of those plays.
Njoku has consistently been good with the ball in his hands. 71 percent of his 600 yards this season have come after the catch. The vast majority of the time, Njoku has caught a screen or a short pass like a hitch or outbreaking route and then created yards after the catch. What stood out against the Jaguars was how the Browns got the ball to him on time in space.
Some of that is a credit to the play calling. Some was created by quarterback Joe Flacco diagnosing the defense and delivering the ball on time. There’s also a portion that represents how bad the Jaguars defense is. Regardless of the last part, the Browns need to work to create more situations where Njoku can catch the ball on the move.
Njoku is not fun for defenders to tackle in any scenario, but especially when he’s already got a head of steam. He’s fast and violent and will use a stiff arm to keep opponents out of his body. He’s rarely tackled on the first hit, and plays where he is fighting for extra yards have become a representation of who this team wants to be.
The contributions from Njoku against the Jaguars were critical. Amari Cooper’s production was good, leading the team in receptions and putting up solid yardage, but he was inconsistent. He looked like someone who couldn’t practice all week. Meanwhile, Elijah Moore left several plays on the field.
After a week of practice and with what could be a completely healed rib, Cooper should be closer to normal. The problem is that when the Browns take on the Chicago Bears, they will have one of the better corners in the league covering him in Jaylon Johnson. Whether Johnson follows Cooper remains to be seen, but it will likely force the Browns to look for production elsewhere.
Certainly, it’s a good opportunity for Moore to have a bounce-back game, but this is also a great opportunity for Njoku to keep rolling.
One of the best aspects of having Flacco at quarterback is how impactful the play-action passing game is. Flacco executes his meshes well, but being comfortable turning his back to the defense is an advantage. It consistently freezes the second level of the defense.
The adjustment the Jags defense made was to consistently send pressure off the back side. If they kept running it, Flacco would turn around to have a defender in his face. This happened once, and then the Browns got out of it. The approach had the added benefit of causing quick pressure on Flacco and forcing a fumble. Sending that pressure left the Jaguars vulnerable to some quick passing later in the game.
That backside pressure should also provide some options in the running game. A successful running game may not be necessary to force linebackers to stall in reading the play. Still, if the backside end or a blitzer is flying up the field expecting the quarterback to keep it, the lack of an effective running game becomes problematic. The best pass rusher on the Bears, Montez Sweat, is on the back side.
The Browns have an opportunity to gameplan to beat that backside pressure. If the opponent sends a blitz, they can have a quick pass there. If it’s Sweat or whoever is lining up on the left side who is trying to fly up field, they have to be able to run in the vacated gap. Punish them for being greedy.
That’s an area where Njoku can have a big role. If he’s lined up next to the right tackle and they expect Sweat to fly upfield, Njoku can release right to the second level, likely picking up a linebacker with Joel Bitonio potentially kicking Sweat out or at least making sure he can’t affect the play. The Browns immediately gain a numbers advantage, which should give them room to run so long as they execute.
If successful, it opens up opportunities for exact type of play-action concept Njoku scored his second touchdown, thereby keeping the Bears defense off balance.
With Flacco being an aggressive passer, the hope is the Browns can mix in some deeper shots to Njoku. He’s only been targeted twice this season over 20 yards, and one of those was the first touchdown against the Jaguars. It’s more precarious given the tackle issues in pass protection, but even if he’s just forcing the safeties to focus on him, it could open up opportunities for a player like Elijah Moore underneath. With Cooper and rookie Cedric Tillman consistently running deep routes, that could create space for Njoku to get the ball with space to run.
After Amari Cooper, David Njoku is the best skill player on this offense. In as much as Njoku needs to consistently capitalize on opportunities he gets, the Browns need to work to maximize him. The Bears could be a good opportunity for Njoku to have another impactful game and help the Browns get their ninth win of the season, pushing them closer to clinching a playoff spot.
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