The #29 pick is in -- David Njoku. | Page 4 | Barking Hard

The #29 pick is in -- David Njoku.

KJP said:
Gee, Myles Garrett isn't on either list. How 'bout that.
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They only picked one player per team, and it is based purely on which player they think is going to have the most impact as a rookie.

I agree with Jeremiah for picking Njoku. Hue Jackson loves tight ends, has a proven history with tight ends, we're likely to be passing a lot, Njoku has pro-style experience and we don't really have a legitimate go-to receiver. There is a reason Barnidge was released - Njoku is going to start from day one and he is going to be getting a lot of targets.

Personally, I don't think it would be shocking for Njoku to approach 1,000 yards and over 100 targets. Kizer loves Njoku, but Kessler is a short/intermediate passer who loves high percentage passing, so he'll like his mismatch tight end even more. Realistically, Njoku could lead the Browns in targets.

Garrett, on the other hand, locks down one side of the line. He'll also compete, if you will, for production with Ogbah, Collins, Kirksey, Shelton and Brantley/Ogunjobi. I wouldn't be shocked if all those guys get good sack totals and tackles, but no one player really dominates the production. I still think Ogbah will lead the Browns in sacks.
 
KJP said:
Careful....
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True enough that Jackson's MO has always been brilliant success with his running backs, ground and air, but the tight ends have always been an effective piece of that puzzle. He's only ever had talent with Eifert, but his usage of that talent has facilitated an excellent high-percentage outlet for his quarterbacks that makes it all the more difficult to halt the production he's had in the backfield.

As OC of Washington in 2003, they had utterly nothing, but their offense was supplemented with an excellent running game and backfield receiving. They had Trung Candidate, Rock Cartwright, Ladell Betts and Chad Morton all carry the rock, combining for 374 carries for 1,482 yards and 7 touchdowns with an additional 58 receptions for 601 yards and 2 touchdowns. That's over 2,000 total yards out of the backfield. They didn't have a tight end worth mention to even use.

As OC of Atlanta in 2007, he turned in a half decent season with an over-the-hill Alge Crumpler, who had more production that season than he did the following three. He had 42 receptions for 444 yards and 5 touchdowns. The backfield was still influential, however. Warrick Dunn and Jerious Norwood combined for 330 rushes for 1,333 yards and 5 touchdowns, with an additional 65 receptions for 515 yards. So. again, terrible situation (Joey Harrington was their starting QB) but he did great stuff with an over-the-hill Warrick Dunn (His 2nd last year before he retired) and Jerious Norwood.

As OC of Oakland in 2010, he finally got someone he could use at TE. Zach Miller led the team in touchdowns, yards and receptions going 60 catches for 685 yards and 5 touchdowns. This offense, again, was well supplemented by backfield passing and running, as McFadden, Bush and Marcel Reese all dominated with a combined 90 receptions for 1,034 yards and 6 touchdowns in the air and 411 carries, 1,934 rushes and 16 touchdowns.

In 2011 as the head coach of Oakland, the backfield trio got back to work even though they lost Zach Miller. 386 rushing attempts for 1,703 yards and 11 touchdowns. In the air they had 83 receptions for 873 yards and 4 touchdowns. That's back-to-back seasons in which his backfield added over 2,500 total yards and 15 total touchdowns. To replace Miller, they had Kevin Boss, who sucked but still produced 28 receptions for 368 yards and 3 touchdowns - which earned him a nice contract with New York the following season where he had a few successful years.

The big kicker for Jackson came with Cinci, though.

In 2014 he had Hill and Bernard combine for 1,800 yards rushing and 14 rushing touchdowns with a further 550 yards and 7 touchdowns receiving. He also had Jermain Gresham second on the team in receptions, third in yards and tied second in touchdowns, with 62 receptions for 460 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Same thing happened again in 2015, Gio and Hill racked up their casual 1,500 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns with another 550 yards and 1 touchdown through the air. So that's every year he's got over a combined 2,500 total yards out of his running backs. This time, he had Eifert. No more washed up Crumpler or raw-as-shit Kevin Boss. Eifert went 52 receptions for 615 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Those are some crazy effective seasons, particularly considering the 1,000 yard receivers he's had to go along with it. But he's always used his tight ends, when possible, to be highly effective. What the numbers don't highlight his how consistently they're in formation as blockers. We lacked that last year - Barnidge, bless his hear, cannot block for shit and we lost Telfer, our best blocking TE, pretty early on.

When I look back at Crumpler, Gresham, Eifert and Barnidge, I feel pretty comfortable in saying none of them are as naturally talented as David Njoku. Eifert is a freak, but he's only played like it with Hue Jackson.

While the 2016 Browns were not where we wanted to be, mostly because of OL injury and losing, Crow and Duke did the same thing. They combined for 1,300 yards and 8 touchdowns while adding 840 yards in the air. Another season in which his backfield comfortably produced over 2,000 yards. Barnidge backed that up with 55 receptions for 612 yards and 2 touchdowns. That's still a very good season, even if he is long past his prime (Suppose his prime did come past his prime, though.) And the Browns again had a 1,000 yard receiver.

When you consider the lack of talent Jackson has worked with, with the exception of Cinci when their offense was easily amongst the best in the league, the results are pretty incredible.

Considering he's done that previously, I can't wait to see what he does with an ultra-talented tight end, the best line he's ever had, and a bunch of players who are now familiar with his offense. There was a rumour going around that Cinci would never deal McCarron to Jackson because they're scared of what he could do if he ever got a team and a quarterback. QB is an issue, but he's possibly got one of the best teams he's ever had. If he can get 600 yards out of Miller, Gresham, Eifert and Barnidge, I cannot wait to see what he'll do with Njoku and a developed Devalve.
 
Fantastic post BDU. When you go content heavy, you're at the top of the board.

The thing I like about our draft picks is they'll scare people.

Whenever I came across UM on the tele, I always looked for Peppers first. I think Williams + Peppers will make OC's take notice.
Same of course goes for Garrett. They'll have to game plan for him.
And Njoku HAS to garner attention, as if you forget about him, Hue's play calling is going to burn you.

Players the other team has to account for. Now THAT's what we needed.
 
OconRecon said:
Players the other team has to account for. Now THAT's what we needed.
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Agreed, and we're still adding a bunch of high draft selections next season.

I feel good about the additions we're making. They all add up. Even if guys only make a few plays per game, having enough players who can make a few plays quickly multiplies. Next thing you know, you've got nine guys who can make 2/4 great plays per game. You're looking at 18/36 great plays.

Could be a sack, PBU, strong coverage, tackle for a loss, big gain, forced fumble, touchdown, whatever.

That's ultimately why the Patriots are as good as they are. It's not like they often have ultra elite talent and a million guys who are the best in the league at their positon. They always have a good team, though. A whole bunch of guys who can make a few plays and rarely fuck things up.
 
OconRecon said:
Fantastic post BDU. When you go content heavy, you're at the top of the board.

The thing I like about our draft picks is they'll scare people.

Whenever I came across UM on the tele, I always looked for Peppers first. I think Williams + Peppers will make OC's take notice.
Same of course goes for Garrett. They'll have to game plan for him.
And Njoku HAS to garner attention, as if you forget about him, Hue's play calling is going to burn you.

Players the other team has to account for. Now THAT's what we needed.
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I agree with most of that.....Minus the part talking about Hues play calling. Going off of last year, his play calling didn't burn anyone save his own team. Couple examples that come to mind, no discipline, trying to be fancy when you're not good, taking too long to get plays in and I'm sure I could poke a few more holes if I tried hard enough......
 
Is it David "In•joh•koo" or "Nah•joh•koo"?

Pluto says the latter. Most fans say the former. I've been saying "en-JOE-koo".

Eventually, when depth charts are officially released, they'll have a pronunciation guide at the bottom. Can't find it now.
 
internalprime8 said:
In his defense, I don't know any other names that start with the letter N and are pronounced "en". It's typically either pronounced "na" or silent. Must be an African dialect. But I'm no cunning linguist.
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Neither am I, but the difficulty in this case appears not to be the dialect, but that Njoku is a three syllable word with only two vowels. The first two letters of the name, N and J are consonants. Consonants are sounds articulated with complete or partial closure of the upper vocal tract. Two consonants such as N and J requiring a different closure cannot be combined in a single sound. It is physically impossible. Therefore, one or the other must be silent or the two must be pronounced as separate syllables. Since both are pronounced, and since the vowel hint for the first syllable is missing, pronunciation is especially problematic without a pronunciation guide.
 
It's not that confusing to those of us who speak a language that pronounces every letter, every time, no matter what follows it. It's only confusing because English is so jumbled and inconsistent in its pronunciations.

The key is to simply say it all quickly together but distinctly: "N-JOE-koo" where you pronounce the "N" like you're saying "No" but cut off the vowel sound completely and replace it with "JOE" instead. So there's no "EN" sound just the hard "Nuh" sound instead.

This is probably hard for English-only speakers but less hard for us speakers of languages where vowel sounds aren't mandatory. My bigger issue is wanting to say "NYO-ku" because of my Croatian heritage speaking.

Here's a fun word for English speakers to try that my Cro bro's will know well: GRB.

Good luck, English speakers. :wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf:

(And yes, that's an actual Croatian word. :heh::heh:)
 
OconRecon said:
Fantastic post BDU. When you go content heavy, you're at the top of the board.

The thing I like about our draft picks is they'll scare people.

Whenever I came across UM on the tele, I always looked for Peppers first. I think Williams + Peppers will make OC's take notice.
Same of course goes for Garrett. They'll have to game plan for him.
And Njoku HAS to garner attention, as if you forget about him, Hue's play calling is going to burn you.

Players the other team has to account for. Now THAT's what we needed.
Click to expand...

Let's hope he improves on his play calling this year. He was too predictable last year. He played to our young players weaknesses instead of their strengths.
 
Honestly, if the growing Ricardo Louis buzz is true and he keeps developing (do they NOT coach WRs at Auburn at all?), we've got some big dudes out there. Louis, Njoku, DeValve, and Britt could cause some serious matchup issues.

And then Coco runs a 4.3 for an 80-yard catch!
 
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