Pittsburgh Steelers fans who may have missed it, Aditi Kinkhabwala joined 93.7 The Fan Monday afternoon to discuss a variety of topics, but she started by discussing the Cleveland Browns' recent extension with tight end David Njoku on The PM Team W/Poni & Mueller. She brought up that when Kevin Stefanski was quizzed about the tight end position, he seemed most excited to discuss Harrison Bryant. Bryant is an interesting choice, considering the Browns recently extended Njoku to the tune of four-years, $56.75 million dollars. Kinkhabwala relayed that she was surprised that after paying Njoku who had demanded a trade previously, that Stefanski would seem excited about the leap that Bryant would take.
Aditi Kinkhabwala interviews former Pittsburgh Steelers' wide receiver, James Washington (#13) at Heinz Field. | Photo via Twitter: @AKinkhabwala
Does it mean that in typical Browns fashion they signed Njoku when the coach was not on board? Odell Beckham Jr. and Baker Mayfield found their way into Stefanski’s doghouse last season. The Browns dumped Beckham, and some have speculated that in the Steelers farewell to Ben Roethlisberger, that he put Mayfield in a position to look bad against the black and gold. Considering the Steelers run defense last year, not using Nick Chubb for 30 carries was curious. Njoku is an interesting choice for an extension. He is a big target and has flashed tantalizing potential for five seasons, but ultimately he is an underachiever who had previously demanded a trade. Njoku’s second season was his best season. They are hoping that the signing of Deshaun Watson will lead to a connection.
“They are just assuming there will be great chemistry between these two [Njoku & Watson].” - Aditi Kinkhabwala
You can listen to the whole interview on the 93.7 website under the podcast section for The PM Team W/Poni & Mueller. The interview is broken down into two parts. You can find the link here.
Roethlisberger searched for a Heath Miller type security blanket for several seasons, so he would not have to force the ball to Antonio Brown. Pittsburgh is hoping that a new signal-caller will establish a connection with Pat Freiermuth who proved he could fill the role with Roethlisberger. However, Njoku has never had that label and now he will be playing with a quarterback in Watson that has typically had his best connections with his wideouts. The discussion came around to at best Njoku being the third best tight end in the division behind Mark Andrews and Freiermuth. Andrews and Freiermuth are both younger and have been much more productive. Andrews is the number one receiving option in Baltimore, but I think that is more about the limitations of Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore offense than Andrew’s talent.
Pittsburgh Steelers tight end, Pat Freiermuth (#88) catches a pass during warmups in the 2021 season opener in Buffalo. | Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO
Freiermuth seems ready to take the biggest leap forward in 2022 in the division amongst tight ends. He was ranked 9th by Pro Football Focus last year in his rookie season, and if Jackson holds out or misses significant time (which are distinct possibilities), he could easily lead the division’s tight ends in receptions. Freiermuth is younger, faster and bigger than Njoku who might not even be the best tight end on his team.
The selection of Freiermuth was initially met with surprise in the NFL outside of Pittsburgh, but finding a potential top tier tight end weapon in today’s NFL is hard to do. Big targets who own the middle of the field consistently are hard to find, and when you do, it is easy for them to become the feature target of the offense. One thing is for certain, the Steelers won’t be wondering if Freiermuth can handle being featured in the offense, he has already proved that he can.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Did the Browns overpay for Njoku? Is he the third best tight end in the division, or the second best on his own team? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
