TE · CLE · GWTTKB

David Njoku — fantasy football 2026

Every game, every stat category, and what the board says. 7.85 points per game in 2025, an ADP of 168.3, usage worth 7.9.

30 years old · 9 seasons of experience · 2017 draft class

Updated 2026-08-16 · free, no account, no paywall
Every figure below comes from our database. Where a stat is not held, the row is absent rather than zero.
ADP 168.3
Consensus across 3 books, standard deviation 42.1, 84.1 picks between cheapest and priciest. Cheapest on underdog, priciest on yahoo.
SLEEPER209.7
ESPN169.6
YAHOO125.6
UNDERDOG211.8
FFA194

Draft-room facts

Goes aroundRound 14, pick 12 in a 12-team draft
Positional rankTE26
Bye week7
ADP standard deviation42.1 picks

The offense he plays in, 2026

Cleveland Browns returns 2 of 6 continuity slots, replacing qb1, te1, hc, oc. Deshaun Watson at quarterback, Todd Monken as head coach, Travis Switzer calling it. The offense projects to 32.2 pass attempts a game at low confidence and 25.9 rushes.

In: Deshaun Watson (qb), KC Concepcion (wr2), Denzel Boston (wr4), Tylan Wallace (wr5), Ahmani Marshall (rb4), Jack Stoll (te2). Out: Dillon Gabriel (qb), Jamari Thrash (wr3), David Njoku (te1).

The projected target split across the offense:

Jerry Jeudy17.2%
KC Concepcion16.6%
Harold Fannin Jr15.8%
Denzel Boston14.9%
Cedric Tillman8.5%
Quinshon Judkins7.6%

Our written view on this offense in 2026

What the offense looks like: Historically, this has been a brutal offense to own in fantasy. Other than TE and RB, not much fantasy relevance has come out of Cleveland in some time. Things could change with the new O line & KC & Boston arriving. Cleveland HAS to figure out the QB situation before we can have full confidence in any of these players, but the pieces may be falling in place for multiple guys to be weekly starters.

Key additions: MASSIVE OVERHAUL for browns line this offseason: Brought in LG Zion Johnson, Center Elgton Jenkins, RT Tytus Howard, & drafted LT Spencer Fano in the 1st round. Its a completely new unit under HC Todd Monken.

Key departures: TE David Njoku left the Browns & is still a free agent. Only key loss.

Notes: Browns drafted OT Spencer Fano RD 1 & WR KC Concepcion RD 1 in 2026 draft. Round 2 they took Denzel Boston. Concepcion & Boston can have fantasy value IF Cleveland figures out QB position. Browns fired HC Stefanski & hired Jesse Minter. Jerry Jeudy will likely struggle to have real fantasy value with the new rookies introduced. Harold Fannin has strong value with David Njoku leaving Cleveland. Njoku is still a free agent & COULD potentially return to Cleveland but it is unlikely. RB Quinshon Judkins was a real star of the Browns offense in 2025 and far outperformed Dylan Sampson. Judkins should be 100% recovered from his season ending leg injury he suffered in 2025 by week 1 2026.

How the volume number was reached: New QB Deshaun Watson, avg 29.7 att/g over 2024,2023; Regressed 65% toward league mean 33.5, floored at 30 → 32.2 att/g; New OC Travis Switzer — pass rate and tempo may shift; New HC Todd Monken.

Offensive environment: CLE rates 18.5 against a league average of 23, 4.5 below it on opponent-adjusted least squares (multi-capture merge).

2026 schedule

Opponent-adjusted pass defense faced, against 2025 ratings. Positive is an easier slate.

Full season+4.5 · easier
Weeks 1–6+6 · easier
Weeks 12–17+5.2 · easier
Fantasy playoffs (15–17)+8.6 · easier

Read this narrowly. Our own testing found that season-long strength of schedule does not survive as a draft input — defensive quality is among the least stable team properties year to year, and a preseason slate is built on last year's identities. The playoff-weeks column is the only one we would let break a tie, and even then it is a tiebreaker rather than a reason. The finding.

What happened when he missed time

From the absence record rather than a depth chart — who actually gained when he was out.

SeasonGames missedMain beneficiaryTheir PPR gain
20245Jordan Akins+3.4
20223Harrison Bryant+2.4
20255Harold Fannin Jr.+0.9

Dynasty context not redraft

Everything in this section is about his dynasty trade value — what he is worth as a long-term asset in the trade market. It is not a forecast of his 2026 fantasy scoring. A player can be a fine redraft pick while his dynasty value falls, and the reverse. The redraft read is above; this is a different question with a different answer.

Where he sits in the dynasty value cycle

His dynasty value has moved -17% over the last twelve months. The market cycle classifies him as stable.

For context on how long this lasts at the position: the average career at his position produces 1.3 elite seasons and 2.3 startable seasons.

The five most similar seasons, and what their dynasty value did next

Matched on production profile — production-driven (pedigree ignored). The last column is how that player’s dynasty value moved the following year — a market outcome, not a scoring one.

PlayerSeasonTheir PPGSimilarityNext year
Hunter Henry20239.270%+42.6%
Gerald Everett20237.467%-55.8%
Dallas Goedert202410.461%+6.7%
Hunter Henry20226.557%+24.2%
Mike Gesicki20234.456%+118.3%

Of the 5 with a following season on record, 4 gained value, 1 lost it and 0 held roughly flat.

Four years of dynasty value

02,0004,000202120222023202420252026
Monthly superflex value, 2020-04 to 2026-07. Up 116% across the series, peaking at 3,816.

The player

Draft capital and athletic profile

Drafted2017, round 1, pick 29 by CLE
CollegeMiami (FL)
Age at draft21
Height6′4″
Weight246 lb
40-yard dash4.64s
Vertical37.5″
Broad jump133″
3-cone6.97s
Shuttle4.34s

Availability and volatility

Career PPR per game10.2
Week-to-week variation0.7
Boom rate28.3%
Bust rate28.3%
Games missed per season2.2
Injury historyAnkle, Knee
Correlation between his posted line and his actual score0.44

That correlation is how closely the books’ posted line tracked what he actually scored, week to week. A higher number means the market has him figured out and there is less to exploit; a lower one means his weeks are harder to price.

Injury type matters more than games missed. Measured across our injury database, knee and foot returns stay below a player’s pre-injury baseline for all three of the first games back, while hamstring returns over-recover by the third.

The record, season by season

2025 · CLE · 11 games

His best game was Week 5 against MIN — 18.7 PPR on 9 targets and a 28.1% target share, in a game that finished 17-21. His worst was Week 11 against BAL at 1.7, on 2 targets, final score 16-23. Across 11 games he cleared 20 points 0 times and came in under 8 points 6 times. In the 6 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 8.9; in the 5 decided by more, 6.6. He scored more when the game was live.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 7.9 points per game. He scored 7.85, 1% below it. The engine classified the season as neutral. On receiving touchdowns specifically he finished 4 against 1.98 expected, a gap of 2.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1CIN16-176.73637014.3%84%
2BAL17-4184540012.2%82%
3GB13-1095740021.2%76%
4DET10-343.1231108.8%84%
5MIN17-2118.76967128.1%96%
6PIT9-235.83628011.8%44%
8NE13-3213.74537115.2%59%
10NYJ20-2710.1222116.3%68%
11BAL16-231.712708%65%
13SF8-262.422408.7%51%
14TEN29-317.111112.6%9%

Production

Receptions33
Targets48
Receiving yards293
Touchdowns4
Points per game7.85
Yards per target6.1
Catch rate68.75%

Role

Snap share65.27%
Target share12.47%
Air-yards share9.15%
WOPR0.252
RACR1.445

Efficiency

Average depth of target5.3
Yards after catch per reception4.8
Yards before catch per reception4
Total YAC160
Broken tackles3
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted95.2
Receiving EPA per game-0.33

Scoring position

Red-zone targets9
Red-zone target share16.4%
End-zone target share25%
Expected receiving TDs1.98
Actual receiving TDs4
Receiving TD luck2.02

Who else ate

The offense threw it 557 times. He took 9.21% of the targets. 2 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Harold Fannin Jr.20.54%
Jerry Jeudy20.35%
David Njoku 9.21%
Isaiah Bond8.45%
Dylan Sampson7.68%
Cedric Tillman7.49%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 3 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Joe Flacco4216.76.114.13%
Dillon Gabriel42212.086.9515.35%
Shedeur Sanders353.732.46.43%

Blowouts against close games

4 of his 11 games were blowouts, 31.5% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 6.8 in those and 8.88 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

2024 · CLE · 11 games

His best game was Week 13 against DEN — 26.2 PPR on 17 targets and a 29.8% target share, in a game that finished 32-41. His worst was Week 5 against WAS at 2.4, on 3 targets, final score 13-34. Across 11 games he cleared 20 points 2 times and came in under 8 points 3 times. In the 4 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 13.2; in the 7 decided by more, 13.7. He scored more when the game was not close.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 15.6 points per game. He scored 13.5, 13.5% below it. The engine classified the season as unlucky.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1DAL17-338.44544011.6%37%
5WAS13-342.41314010.7%42%
6PHI16-208.15731030.4%74%
7CIN14-2123.6101476129.2%82%
8BAL29-2417.15761117.1%84%
9LAC10-277.95729015.2%77%
11NO14-3519.19981020%86%
12PIT24-193.9159018.5%98%
13DEN32-4126.291752229.8%92%
14PIT14-2717.271342135.1%90%
16CIN6-2414.681066032.3%62%

Production

Receptions64
Targets97
Receiving yards505
Touchdowns5
Points per game13.5
Yards per target5.21
Catch rate65.98%

Role

Snap share74.91%
Target share22.72%
Air-yards share14.53%
WOPR0.444
RACR1.314

Efficiency

Average depth of target5.2
Yards after catch per reception3.9
Yards before catch per reception4
Total YAC251
Broken tackles4
Drop rate0.1%
Passer rating when targeted83.1
Receiving EPA per game-0.47

Scoring position

Red-zone targets14
Red-zone target share23%
End-zone target share35.5%
Expected receiving TDs4.56
Actual receiving TDs4
Receiving TD luck-0.56

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 80+ targets pool that season:

Points per game4 of 13
Yards per target13 of 13
Target share4 of 13
Air-yards share11 of 13

Who else ate

The offense threw it 661 times. He took 15.3% of the targets. 2 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Jerry Jeudy22.87%
Elijah Moore16.09%
David Njoku 15.3%
Jordan Akins9.15%
Amari Cooper8.36%
Cedric Tillman7.73%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 3 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Jameis Winston65815.234.7222.62%
Deshaun Watson3156.35.9317.57%
Dorian Thompson-Robinson22419.15.9230.75%

Blowouts against close games

4 of his 11 games were blowouts, 29.6% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 11 in those and 13.18 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

2023 · CLE · 16 games

His best game was Week 14 against JAX — 27.1 PPR on 8 targets and a 18.6% target share, in a game that finished 31-27. His worst was Week 13 against LA at 3.7, on 6 targets, final score 19-36. Across 16 games he cleared 20 points 2 times and came in under 8 points 5 times. In the 8 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 14.8; in the 8 decided by more, 10.4. He scored more when the game was live.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 13.6 points per game. He scored 12.58, 6.2% below it. The engine classified the season as neutral. On receiving touchdowns specifically he finished 3 against 5.47 expected, a gap of -2.5.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1CIN24-34.42324010.3%73%
2PIT22-266.84448010%85%
3TEN27-364420012.9%73%
4BAL3-2810.66746020.6%70%
6SF19-175.43424012.1%83%
7IND39-3810.45954025.7%96%
8SEA20-2417.74877126.7%78%
9ARI27-012.64626121.4%77%
10BAL33-3111.86958028.1%87%
11PIT13-1012.671556036.6%89%
12DEN12-2911.96959023.1%85%
13LA19-363.72617014.6%83%
14JAX31-2727.16891218.6%82%
15CHI20-1726.41014104131.8%84%
16HOU36-2216.46944120.9%79%
17NYJ37-2017.468134027.6%82%

Production

Receptions81
Targets123
Receiving yards882
Touchdowns6
Points per game12.58
Yards per target7.17
Catch rate65.85%

Role

Snap share81.63%
Target share21.31%
Air-yards share12.42%
WOPR0.406
RACR2.813

Efficiency

Average depth of target4.5
Yards after catch per reception7.4
Yards before catch per reception3.5
Total YAC599
Broken tackles10
Drop rate0.1%
Passer rating when targeted89.5
Receiving EPA per game-0.71

Scoring position

Red-zone targets20
Red-zone target share27.8%
End-zone target share28.1%
Expected receiving TDs5.47
Actual receiving TDs3
Receiving TD luck-2.47

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 80+ targets pool that season:

Points per game6 of 14
Yards per target11 of 14
Target share5 of 14
Air-yards share11 of 14

Who else ate

The offense threw it 624 times. He took 20.6% of the targets. 2 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Amari Cooper21.44%
David Njoku 20.6%
Elijah Moore17.42%
Jerome Ford10.55%
Cedric Tillman7.37%
Jordan Akins3.85%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 4 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Deshaun Watson5268.326.7716.54%
Joe Flacco54518.28.6722.7%
Dorian Thompson-Robinson33111.75.1926.77%
P.J. Walker32111.177.3821.5%

Blowouts against close games

7 of his 16 games were blowouts, 33.1% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 9.51 in those and 14.77 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

2022 · CLE · 14 games

His best game was Week 3 against PIT — 23.9 PPR on 10 targets and a 32.3% target share, in a game that finished 29-17. His worst was Week 1 against CAR at 1.7, on 1 targets, final score 26-24. Across 14 games he cleared 20 points 1 time and came in under 8 points 6 times. In the 8 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 8.4; in the 6 decided by more, 12.4. He scored more when the game was not close.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 10 points per game. He scored 10.14, 1.4% above it. The engine classified the season as neutral.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1CAR26-241.711703.3%89%
2NYJ30-316.23532018.5%94%
3PIT29-1723.991089132.3%88%
4ATL20-239.75773020%92%
5LAC28-3014.86688018.8%85%
6NE15-388.83658014.3%80%
7BAL20-2314.17771028%62%
11BUF23-313.7231707.7%37%
12TB23-1713.95729119.4%81%
14CIN10-2318.77959123.1%96%
15BAL13-35.83628023.1%94%
16NO10-173.42514018.5%97%
17WAS24-103.11321018.8%93%
18PIT14-2814.24542118.5%92%

Production

Receptions58
Targets80
Receiving yards628
Carries2
Rushing yards-8
Touchdowns4
Points per game10.14
Yards per target7.85
Catch rate72.5%
Yards per carry-4

Role

Snap share84.29%
Target share18.88%
Air-yards share14.51%
WOPR0.384
RACR1.581

Efficiency

Average depth of target6.5
Yards after catch per reception5.8
Yards before catch per reception5
Total YAC338
Broken tackles3
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted106.7
Receiving EPA per game1.76
Rushing EPA per game-0.18

Scoring position

Red-zone targets20
Red-zone target share27%
End-zone target share15.6%
Expected receiving TDs4.37
Actual receiving TDs4
Receiving TD luck-0.37

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 80+ targets pool that season:

Points per game6 of 11
Yards per target3 of 11
Target share7 of 11
Air-yards share8 of 11

Who else ate

The offense threw it 540 times. He took 15.81% of the targets. 2 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Amari Cooper26.09%
Donovan Peoples-Jones18.97%
David Njoku 15.81%
Kareem Hunt8.7%
Harrison Bryant8.3%
Nick Chubb7.31%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 2 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Jacoby Brissett95210.768.9218.03%
Deshaun Watson5289.045.8620.4%

Blowouts against close games

1 of his 14 games were blowouts, 6.2% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 8.8 in those and 8.44 in close games — a meaningful share of his scoring came with the game already decided.

2021 · CLE · 15 games

His best game was Week 5 against LAC — 27.9 PPR on 7 targets and a 24.1% target share, in a game that finished 42-47. His worst was Week 16 against GB at 0, on 2 targets, final score 22-24. Across 15 games he cleared 20 points 1 time and came in under 8 points 10 times. In the 10 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 7.9; in the 5 decided by more, 5.8. He scored more when the game was live.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 6.2 points per game. He scored 7.17, 16.3% above it. The engine classified the season as lucky.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1KC29-3310.63576018.5%59%
2HOU31-213.82318014.3%59%
4MIN14-73.7221706.5%67%
5LAC42-4727.977149124.1%64%
6ARI14-371.612606.5%44%
7DEN17-143.8221806.3%59%
8PIT10-156.9333909.7%64%
9CIN41-168.81318115.8%73%
10NE7-452.11411012.9%59%
11DET13-104.12420014.3%64%
12BAL10-1612.53535114.7%72%
15LV14-165.93529017.2%100%
16GB22-24002005.6%57%
17PIT14-2612.84428111.1%72%
18CIN21-163.1221108.3%59%

Production

Receptions36
Targets53
Receiving yards475
Carries1
Rushing yards1
Touchdowns4
Points per game7.17
Yards per target8.96
Catch rate67.92%
Yards per carry1

Role

Snap share64.8%
Target share12.39%
Air-yards share11.66%
WOPR0.267
RACR0.903

Efficiency

Average depth of target8.2
Yards after catch per reception6.9
Yards before catch per reception6.3
Total YAC247
Broken tackles2
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted113.3
Receiving EPA per game1.43
Rushing EPA per game-0.03

Scoring position

Red-zone targets9
Red-zone target share15.3%
End-zone target share28%
Expected receiving TDs2.75
Actual receiving TDs3
Receiving TD luck0.25

Who else ate

The offense threw it 520 times. He took 10.75% of the targets. 1 team-mate cleared the competing-target threshold.

Jarvis Landry17.65%
Austin Hooper12.37%
Donovan Peoples-Jones11.76%
David Njoku 10.75%
Rashard Higgins9.53%
Odell Beckham6.9%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 3 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Baker Mayfield12447.99.4812.83%
Case Keenum243.457.257.3%
Nick Mullens155.95.817.2%

Blowouts against close games

3 of his 15 games were blowouts, 11.6% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 4.17 in those and 7.85 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

2020 · CLE · 11 games

His best game was Week 1 against BAL — 14 PPR on 3 targets and a 8.6% target share, in a game that finished 6-38. His worst was Week 11 against PHI at 0, on 1 targets, final score 22-17. Across 11 games he cleared 20 points 0 times and came in under 8 points 9 times. In the 6 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 4.8; in the 5 decided by more, 4.7. He scored more when the game was live.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 4.8 points per game. He scored 4.75, 3.2% above it. The engine classified the season as neutral.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1BAL6-3814335018.6%23%
5IND32-231.611602.6%29%
6PIT7-381.7137011.5%40%
7CIN37-34102320110.7%60%
8LV6-162.91319012%59%
11PHI22-17001005.6%51%
13TEN41-351.511503.1%41%
14BAL42-477.5344509.1%61%
15NYG20-63.2112203.3%48%
16NYJ16-236.6442608%38%
17PIT24-223.32513019.2%79%

Production

Receptions19
Targets29
Receiving yards213
Touchdowns2
Points per game4.75
Yards per target7.34
Catch rate65.52%

Role

Snap share48.09%
Target share8.52%
Air-yards share6.74%
WOPR0.175
RACR0.986

Efficiency

Average depth of target7.4
Yards after catch per reception4.6
Yards before catch per reception6.6
Total YAC87
Broken tackles2
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted110.3
Receiving EPA per game1.04

Scoring position

Red-zone targets6
Red-zone target share7.5%
End-zone target share13.2%
Expected receiving TDs2.32
Actual receiving TDs2
Receiving TD luck-0.32

Who else ate

The offense threw it 501 times. 2 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Jarvis Landry21.96%
Austin Hooper15.22%
Rashard Higgins11.3%
Kareem Hunt11.09%
Odell Beckham9.35%
Harrison Bryant8.26%

Blowouts against close games

2 of his 11 games were blowouts, 30% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 7.85 in those and 4.82 in close games — a meaningful share of his scoring came with the game already decided.

Ask the Coach about David Njoku →
All player profiles · 2026 rankings · Research findings · Methodology
GWTTKB publishes research and education. Nothing here is betting advice.