David Njoku has demanded a trade from the Browns. While he could be interesting on the LA Chargers, Charles Clay would be a better fit.
On Friday, news broke that Browns’ tight end David Njoku has requested a trade from the team.
Njoku would like to be dealt before training camp. The Browns probably can’t guarantee that, but it makes sense to get something in return for the fourth-year tight end if he really doesn’t want to be there. Remember, Cleveland signed Austin Hooper to a record contract at the tight end position and drafted Harrison Bryant out of FAU.
Here at BoltBeat, our own Jason Reed wrote about why the Chargers should make a move for Njoku. While there is certainly some tangible appeal to him being on the Chargers, there is one option that is better when looking at all aspects through a more critical lens — Charles Clay.
Perhaps Clay isn’t the first player many would think of as the second tight end, but there are a few key reasons he’d be a good fit.
Reason #1: Relationship with Tyrod Taylor
He played with Tyrod Taylor in Buffalo for three years. Clay had over 520 yards in each of his seasons with the Bills and even led the team in receiving yards in 2017. It would be a pretty savvy move to bring in someone who Taylor is comfortable playing with on a cheap contract.
Clay averaged 79 targets per year in Buffalo. Hunter Henry will get the bulk of those targets in Los Angeles should he stay healthy this season, but it still makes sense to sign a target that Taylor is very familiar with. The team doesn’t have an established pass-catching tight end behind Henry.
It wouldn’t only benefit Taylor either, as Justin Herbert could very well take advantage of having a veteran tight end like Clay. In 2015, Clay was obviously a big part of bringing Taylor along in the first year he was starting. Even in the second tight end role he played in 2019, Clay put up very decent production playing with Arizona’s Kyler Murray.
Reason #2: Not giving up draft capital
Njoku would likely cost the LA Chargers somewhere between a 3rd and 5th round pick. Clay is an undrafted free agent. It’s pretty simple math there. Whenever a team can retain draft capital by finding a better option, they should.
It goes without saying that Njoku certainly has potential. He’s only 23 years old and could still develop. On the other hand, he’s also going into his fourth year and we’re still talking about the several question marks that always pop up in his game.
Henry has never been a great blocker, but Njoku’s blocking makes Henry look like Rob Gronkowski. The drop rate is also still too high. When he last played a season in 2018, Njoku had the worst drop rate in the league at 12.5%.
All of that is to say that sure, Njoku has potential, but how many guys really improve significantly when they’re already in their fourth season? Plus, when it comes to tight ends, analysts generally think the 2021 class is pretty good anyway.
Why pay draft capital for one year of Njoku when the Chargers could just take someone like Matt Bushman or Brevin Jordan in the mid-rounds next year? Four years of a cheap contract does sound better than a 1+team option with Njoku.
It’s important to have cheap and controllable contracts when so many Chargers are free agents in 2021. The team should have as many rookie contracts as possible when considering that they have to pay Joey Bosa, Melvin Ingram, Keenan Allen, Henry, and maybe a few others.
Reason #3: Better blocking
The LA Chargers are an interesting case when it comes to their tight ends blocking. Henry was pretty good at blocking earlier in his career, but struggled mightily with it in 2019. This could be for a couple of reasons, one of which is that he is still recovering from that torn ACL he suffered in 2018. Players don’t fully recover for usually another year after that.
Virgil Green is a solid blocker, but he’s not really a good pass catcher. When the Chargers put Green on the field, there’s not much doubt he’s blocking other than the nine or 10 receptions he’ll have every year.
Njoku, as stated earlier, struggles immensely as a blocker. In 2018, Njoku ranked 104th in the league amongst tight ends in pass blocking. In the same year, Clay posted a 76 pass blocking grade, which was 25 points higher than Njoku’s score.
RELATED: Grading the 2020 tight end group
The Chargers could use better blocking from their tight ends, but they’re simply not getting it from Njoku. Maybe he’ll develop in a few years down the line, but I have my doubts about that when he’s already in his fourth season.
While Clay may not be what he used to be as a pass catcher, he’s still highly regarded as a blocker. Frankly, he’d probably be the best blocker on the Chargers if they signed him right now as the second tight end behind Henry.
Njoku is basically a wide receiver trying to play tight end while never actually improving at blocking or drop rate. Clay is an established veteran with good blocking and still good enough production to play second tight end.
Reason #4: Veteran experience to fill in for Hunter Henry
It goes without saying that there’s a decent chance Henry is hurt again in 2020. The injuries have stacked up in his career, and even if it’s only a four-game absence like in 2019, the LA Chargers still have to deal with it.
When comparing Clay and Njoku as potential options for the Chargers, one of the things that should be discussed is the ability to fill in for Henry if needed. We’ve gone over Njoku’s numerous shortcomings when he was previously a starting tight end in 2018. The blocking and drop rate are abysmal. In fairness to him though, he did put up 639 receiving yards in 2018.
Clay has obviously been put in a second tight end role since 2018, so it’s hard to tell how many yards he could put up if he was asked to be the starting tight end. I’d think the difference between him in Njoku in yardage would be pretty negligible though, especially considering the quarterbacks. Both Taylor and Herbert love giving a lot of volume to their tight ends.
If they’d both get a lot of targets in this scenario, the difference is really efficiency. As I’ve pointed out, Clay has simply been a more complete and efficient tight end than Njoku. Even if Clay is older and not as athletic, I’ll take that over the very serious blocking and drop issues from Njoku.
While Chargers fans may be excited about the potential of Njoku if everything goes right, it’s again worth pointing out that he’s going into his fourth year. Very few players blossom into something special after they’ve already been in the league for so long.
With Clay, the Chargers don’t have to give up any draft capital. They get solid blocking, a better catch rate, and veteran experience to fill in for Henry if need be. Clay simply makes more sense as the second tight end in 2020 than Njoku.