More often than not tight end has been a black hole of a position in fantasy football over the years. Which is often why fantasy owners are so desperate to reach for the “next big thing” at the position whenever the next season’s rookie crop gets added to the mix.
As a card carrying member of the Kyle Pitts truther club, I can attest to how much the sunk cost fallacy has likely derailed a few of my fantasy seasons to date. But it’s also why veteran players on the brink of retirement, such as Travis Kelce or Zach Ertz, are still considered starters in many fantasy circles. Simply put, the hype doesn’t usually match on field production.
One of the poster children of this has been longtime Browns TE David Njoku, who just this week signed a 1 year deal worth up to $8M to join the Chargers.
At 6’4″ and 246lbs, Njoku has all the physical tools needed to excel at the NFL level. But due to a myriad of factors including injuries, and inconsistent quarterback play (to put it nicely), he’s largely disappointed fantasy owners since joining the league in 2017.
His best season came in 2023 when he caught 81 passes for 882 yards, and 6 TDs. That effort would mark the only Pro Bowl appearance of his career, and set career highs in virtually every offensive category for the now 29 year old.
While his status in Cleveland was productive from a franchise standpoint (he ranks 2nd in catches and TDs for a tight end all-time), few, if any, fantasy championships have been won because of his production at the TE position.
Now, he’s coming off a disastrous 2025 NFL campaign in which he was limited to just 12 games due to injury. Were it not for his 2019 season in which he saw 1 start, and 10 targets total, his 2025 stat line would have been the worst of his career in terms of yards (293), first downs (11), and longest catch (23 yards).
So why is his signing out west anything more than a depth addition for a veteran on the back half of his career? To put it simply, addition by subtraction.
The mere fact that Njoku is moving out of Cleveland’s inept offence, into a competent system led by new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel cannot be overstated. Say what you will about McDaniel’s time as a head coach with the Dolphins, but there’s no doubting his ability to scheme up creative offensive plays. If there’s anyone who can maximize Njoku’s skillset, it’s him.
Then you have the offensive line to consider. In Cleveland, Njoku was regularly tasked with run blocking and pass protection, despite almost never leaving the field. His blocking reps were regularly amongst the highest at his position, limiting some of his ability to stretch the field offensively. During his lone Pro Bowl season, the former 1st rounder lined up as an inline (hand in the dirt) tight end at the 2nd highest rate in the NFL.
All of that was out of necessity as the Browns shuffled through quarterback after quarterback, and often struggled to keep their signal callers upright. One needs to go back all the way back to 2017 (Njoku’s rookie year) to find a Pro Bowl tackle on the roster, meaning Njoku was often used to help reinforce the edge in pass protection.
In Los Angeles, the Chargers feature the polar opposite set up in the trenches. Their offensive line is the envy of the league with Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater bookending a dominant front five. If they can stay healthy, it should free up the veteran TE for additional pass catching routes which simply weren’t there with Cleveland.
But perhaps the most important factor is quarterback play. Since joining the NFL, Njoku has seen Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, Joe Flacco, Jameis Winston, Deshaun Watson, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Bailey Zappe, Jeff Driskel, P.J. Walker, Jacoby Brissett, Baker Mayfield, Case Keenum, Nick Mullens, Tyrod Taylor, DeShone Kizer, and Kevin Hogan take snaps under centre.
He has never had a quarterback with the arm talent that Justin Herbert does. Herbert is coming off a season in which he threw for 3,727 yards, and 26 TDs in what was largely a “down year” for him offensively. Because of injuries, and a stagnant play calling process, LA relied heavily on the ground game last season, a trend that figures to change with McDaniel now in town.
The one factor to keep an eye on here is Oronde Gadsden’s presence on the roster. As a rookie, the second generation NFLer made 49 catches for 664 yards and 3 TDs. At 6’5″, 236lbs he has a similar build to Njoku, so he’s likely to impact some of the red zone looks that the former Brown would have seen in Cleveland.
Nevertheless, Jim Harbaugh has a fairly extensive track record of using two tight end sets dating back to his time with Stanford. It’s something he’s brought with him wherever he goes, from San Francisco, to Michigan, and now in LA. But he hasn’t had a pair of tight ends like Gadsden and Njoku since his Vernon Davis/Delanie Walker days. And when he had those two patrolling the soft spots on the field, his team went to the Super Bowl.
At the end of the day, expecting a 1,000 yard career year out of Njoku this season is likely a pipe dream. However, he and Gadsden are a sizeable upgrade from the Will Dissly/Hayden Hurst years. Taking a late round flyer on him, and hoping that a change of scenery, and improved play calling will result in a serviceable fantasy stat line isn’t the craziest idea of the offseason at this point.
Prediction: 650 yards receiving, 5 TDs
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.