Camp thoughts Vol. XIII

 

He’s No. 3 on the depth chart at his position, but it shouldn’t be long before he is elevated one notch and becomes an important part of the Browns’ offense this season.

 

Harrison Bryant is still a rookie and has rightfully been slotted third behind Austin Hooper and David Njoku at tight end. Unless you’re a first- or second-round draft choice, that sometimes goes with the territory.

 

Bryant was a fourth-round selection by Cleveland in the last National Football League college draft. It raised eyebrows. Why another tight end when the population at that position was already blinking no vacancy with four?

 

If you know new head coach Kevin Stefanski, the answer is obvious. He loves tight ends. They are major parts of his offensive philosophy. And Bryant won the John Mackey Award as the nation’s top collegiate tight end last season.

 

He caught 65 passes for 1,004 yards and seven touchdowns for Florida Atlantic. (In the interest of full disclosure, he also had eight drops.) But according to reports from training camp, he catches everything thrown his way.

 

It earned him the Maurice Bassett Award as training camp’s best rookie. “He has done a nice job,” Stefanski told the Cleveland media. “To his credit, he really is a diligent worker, a student of the game. We moved him around the formation and to different positions and he has not missed a beat.”

 

Added guard Joel Bitonio, “He hasn’t talked much, which is good for a rookie. He comes in and handles his business. Every time the ball comes his way, he is making a play on it.”

 

Bryant said he had one thing in mind when he reported to camp. “One of my foundation things is just going in head down and go to work,” he told the media. “Just come in, work, keep to myself and just do whatever I can to help the team win.”

 

Njoku, meanwhile, is being slowed by an old wrist injury. He’s coming off a very forgettable 2019 season that saw him miss a bunch of early games with the broken wrist and concussion, then enter and never exit head coach Freddie Kitchens’ doghouse.

 

He responded by asking for a trade following the drafting of Bryant. But when the club picked up his fifth-year option and Stefanski indicated he would be a part of the offense, Njoku changed his mind and said he was “all in” with the club.

 

With Bryant having a solid camp, it’s now up to the former first-round pick to convince his head coach and coordinator he should be paired with free agent signee Austin Hooper in the club’s two tight end offense and keep the rookie in learning mode on the sideline.

 

But Njoku has to dramatically improve his catch rate. He has caught only 59% of targeted passes in three seasons. Not nearly good enough. By comparison, Hooper has caught 77% of the passes thrown his way in four seasons.

If Njoku doesn’t improve, look for Bryant to move up that notch. And sooner rather than later.