2. David Njoku
The LA Chargers could take a risk on David Njoku for relatively cheap
We have not yet heard any reports of the Cleveland Browns actively shopping David Njoku this offseason but it would not be surprising if the Browns did trade the former first-round pick. Njoku is entering the last year of his rookie deal and has fallen all the way to TE3 on the Browns depth chart.
The team is paying Austin Hooper a pretty penny and second-year tight end Harrison Bryant (who I really wanted the Chargers to draft last year) is projected to have an even bigger role in the offense.
The Browns can save $6 million against the cap by trading one season of Njoku and while his trade value may not be much, that freed up money alone could be worth it for Cleveland considering the role the team gave him in 2020.
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The Chargers could likely get a deal done for Njoku for one of the team’s sixth-round picks. I would take that risk in a heartbeat.
At his best, Njoku played like a bonafide TE1. In 2018 Njoku caught 56 passes for 639 yards and was a serviceable blocker. Unfortunately, Njoku got hurt early in the 2019 season and then once he returned to action in 2020 he was suddenly the TE3, not the TE1.
The risk of Njoku could have a huge pay-off as well. If things go well in 2021, the Chargers could sign Njoku to a multi-year deal to be the tight end that replaces Hunter Henry for the time being. Njoku turns 25 in July, so he is still very young.
This is essentially like the Chargers taking a tight end in the sixth round to join Parham and Anderson but has a much higher potential pay-off.