The Cleveland Browns, for what feels like the hundredth year in a row, are playing very bad football. Sitting at 1-5, they've already made their first quarterback change, with third-round pick Dillon Gabriel now the starting quarterback over the now Bengal Joe Flacco.
While they do have one of the better defenses in the league, their offense leaves plenty to be desired, and the stats show exactly that: they score the fewest points out of any team in the league.
The Browns are terrible, but they do have a young group of offensive players that could turn into something if given the opportunity. Quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders are rookies, UDFA Isaiah Bond starts, and most notably, ex-Bowling Green tight end Harold Fannin is the team's leading receiver. He ranks ninth among all tight ends in yards, above both Dallas Goedert and Brock Bowers.
The New England Patriots are on the upswing without a doubt, winning their last three and sitting atop the AFC East at 4-2. Their next two games are against the Titans and Browns, who have a combined 2-10 record.
Assuming they take care of business against a pair of dismal teams, they'll be sitting at 6-2 approaching the trade deadline. If that's the case, adding quality football players seems like a good idea.
Trading for David Njoku would be an interesting move for New England
The Patriots have a solid group of tight ends. Hunter Henry ranks seventh among all tight ends in the league in receiving yards, and Austin Hooper's eight catches offer another 105 yards. The duo was the only pair of tight ends to rank in the top 24 in receiving yards at the position last year. Second-year tight end, Jack Westover, has operated primarily as a fullback, but also takes TE3 snaps.
While the team is in a good spot at the position, the opportunity to add quality players should never be dismissed. ESPN's Adam Schefter stated in a recent article that David Njoku could be available, and if that's true, the Patriots should make a call.
Moving Njoku, 29, would make plenty of sense for the Browns. It's clear they won't be a competitive team this year, and the emergence of Fannin as a younger and cheaper option makes it feasible to move the former Miami Hurricane for draft capital. Njoku will be a free agent at the end of the year and is owed $11.5 million this season. Taking the remainder of that deal would be no issue for New England.
While making a move for a second tight end might seem unnecessary, 12 personnel is a major part of the Patriots' offense. From Week 2 onward, Austin Hooper has played at least 57% of snaps every week. Njoku's snaps dropped to just 44% against the Steelers this past week, while Fannin played 80%. Njoku's declining utilization, paired with Josh McDaniels' affinity for two tight end sets, makes this a very good match should the Browns make him available.
Austin Hooper has virtually no trade value, but for the sake of consistency, perhaps they could ship him and a pick to Cleveland to land their new tight end? Alternatively, could swapping Keion White in a one-for-one deal make sense? White will be a free agent after next season, and although athletic, he has just six sacks in his career to this point.
While the addition of a high-quality tight end would be a luxury, the Patriots have the trade bait and draft capital to pull it off. If the team is still on the upswing a few weeks from now, which I expect they will be, adding a player like Njoku is an opportunity they shouldn't pass up.