Browns Extend David Njoku: 2022 Dynasty Fantasy Football Sleeper

The Cleveland Browns have extended tight end David Njoku, agreeing to a four-year contract. The former first-round selection has been a bit of a fantasy enigma, turning in a TE1 season but also failing to deliver based on his draft capital and overall talent. With new quarterback Deshaun Watson in town, is 2022 the year Njoku delivers for fantasy managers?

David Njoku and Browns agree on four-year extension

David Njoku and the Cleveland Browns have come to an agreement on a four-year, $56.75M contract extension.

Fantasy Impact

Njoku gets $28 million guaranteed and his average of $14.1875M per year makes him the fifth-highest paid tight end. These talks have been in the works for a while and the two sides finally came to an agreement on Friday. The former first-round pick has shown flashes during his first five seasons in the league, but he has yet to top 640 receiving yards in a single year. This contract extension should show the Browns belief in Njoku and he should be a huge part of Cleveland’s offense moving forward.

David Njoku: 2022 Fantasy Football Sleeper

Njoku is currently the TE16 in our expert consensus dynasty fantasy football rankings, but our analysts are higher on him.

Andrew Erickson views Njoku as a TE1 in dynasty fantasy football circles. Here’s his outlook for Njoku in 2022:

Franchise-tagged tight end David Njoku has a golden opportunity to break out in 2022 with Deshaun Watson as his quarterback after an encouraging 2021. He set career highs in PFF grade (70.9, 10th), yards per route run (1.56, 8th), and yards after the catch per reception (7.0, first) among tight ends that commanded at least 50 targets in 2021.

The Browns also released Austin Hooper, which should open up the opportunity for the athletic Njoku to take a major leap. Don’t be too quick to forget that Njoku already as a top-10 TE finish on his career resume.

Derek Brown is even higher on Njoku, his TE9 in dynasty fantasy football rankings:

David Njoku’s dynasty value is screaming at this moment. It’s been turned up to 11. Your eardrums might burst if you don’t answer the call to acquire him in dynasty. Njoku will gain value as soon as he signs the rumored extension regarding which he and the Browns have been in talks. So that’s one avenue. The other is his immense talent is at the precipice of being unleashed. Last year, Njoku was 11th in yards per route run and fifth in yards after the catch per reception (minimum 20 targets, per PFF). He can win the battle to become Deshaun Watson’s second target over David Bell, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and Co. You’ll wish you traded for Njoku at pennies on the dollar when he does.