5 NFL teams that should trade for David Njoku from Browns

David Njoku trade landing spot No. 5. New York Jets

David Njoku was nearly catching passes from Sam Darnold. The USC quarterback was expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in 2018, which was when the Cleveland Browns owned the No. 1 overall pick — which everyone knew was going to be spent on a quarterback.

Darnold seemed to be the consensus pick throughout the collegiate season but when the year was over, Baker Mayfield began to gain traction. In the end, Mayfield was the choice and Darnold ended up going third to the New York Jets.

So far, Darnold has looked to be more than capable as he’s coming off a campaign that saw him lead his team to a 7-6 record. They were 0-3 without him, but the fact that he improved from 4-9 speaks volumes. As did his increase in completion percentage, yardage, and touchdowns — as well as a drop in interceptions.

Now, the Jets are doing all they can to build around No. 14 as he enters his third season in the NFL. They used the draft to add a big offensive tackle in Mekhi Becton (who was also linked to the Browns often during the pre-draft process this season) and a wideout in Denzel Mims.

Making a trade for a player such as Njoku would only help to move Darnold along. A big target such as Njoku is always a plus in the passing game and while New York has Chris Herndon, he’s coming off a season that was even worse than Njoku’s.

Herndon played in just one game as he was suspended early for violating the substance abuse policy and then was later hurt. Njoku doesn’t have any suspension history and even if Herndon’s issues are in the past, adding a second tight end on a rookie contract would be a great move to help a young quarterback.