After a decisive win against the Cleveland Browns, the Los Angeles Chargers can now taste a playoff berth. And that craving should make them salivate ahead of the NFL’s trade deadline just a day away. Pro Football Talks, Mike Florio has reported that, after Sunday’s loss, the Cleveland Browns are willing to move on from any player not named Myles Garrett. That includes tight end David Njoku — for the right price.
While the offense has shown improvement over the last few weeks, it is evident that the Chargers’ defense is the spoon that stirs the coffee on that team.
Since the publication of this article a conflicting report states that Njoku is not available
Should The Chargers Call The Browns About Njoku?
Initially, the calls were for the Chargers to trade for a wide receiver, but those have died down after the top targets have already been moved and their receivers group has started to get healthy and play better.
But considering how much this offense relies on throwing to tight ends, come hell or Will Dissly, adding Njoku would be a marked step in the right direction for the team. Just over 25 percent of all of Justin Herbert’s targets have gone to tight ends, chiefly to Dissly as Hayden Hurst has missed several games due to injury.
Herbert has never played with an elite tight end, which is borderline criminal given how much he likes targeting tight ends in the passing game.
Njoku hasn’t played his best football this year, but just last season he set career highs with 975 receiving yards and six touchdowns. And that was with Deshaun Watson and Joe Flacco throwing at him. With Herbert, Njoku could reach new heights.
But it takes two to tango to make a trade happen and, as mentioned above, the Browns may want more than the Bolts are willing to part with. TJ Hockenson was traded in 2022 for what amounted to a second-round pick.
Will this rebuilding team risk a possible starter on a rookie contract for two seasons with Njoku? With a possible trip to the playoffs insight, it must be considered.
