David 

Njoku

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Njoku has been a clear fantasy starter for more weeks than not over the last season. There is a clear gap between him and the other elite tight ends, as there is not much Njoku excels at relative to other elite tight ends, but the majority of NFL teams would take Njoku over their current tight end. The one area Njoku was particularly good at in 2023 was avoiding tackles — his 22 were five more than any other tight end — but that hasn’t been an area Njoku has consistently excelled at.

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By far Njoku’s biggest problem is having Deshaun Watson at quarterback. In 2022, Njoku averaged 10.8 fantasy points per game over the first 12 weeks of the season before Watson became the starter. Over the last six weeks of the season, his fantasy points per game rate dropped to 9.0. In 2023 with five full games with Watson, Njoku averaged 8.3 points per game. He averaged 14.6 fantasy points per game in his other 11 games. Most of his stats per target are similar with and without Watson, but he averages 17.0% targets per route without Watson and 23.8% with Watson over the past two seasons.

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Njoku should be among the top 12 fantasy tight ends drafted, but it would be worth prioritizing a second option. His talent will likely keep him outside the top-five tight ends, and if Watson continues to throw to him less than other past Browns quarterbacks, he will finish outside the top 12. Chances are Watson will throw to him a little more often to keep him in the top 12.