There are a number of quality tight ends set to hit the market for 2026 NFL free agency, and one of the biggest names is David Njoku of the Cleveland Browns.
After spending the first eight years of his career in Cleveland, Njoku finally appears poised to hit the open market after the breakthrough season we saw from Browns rookie Harold Fannin Jr., Still under the age of 30, Njoku has a lot of good football left, and his market should reflect that.
We'll see what happens with other prominent free agents at the position like Kyle Pitts, Travis Kelce, and others, but Njoku could end up being one of the best bang-for-your-buck players on the open market coming off of a down statistical year in 2025. He has a few no-brainer landing spots this offseason.
3 potential landing spots for David Njoku in 2026 NFL free agency
1. Miami Dolphins
The low-hanging fruit when predicting a no-brainer landing spot for a player like Njoku is a return to the place he played college football. Njoku as a first-round pick out of Miami all the way back in 2017, and could perhaps finish out his career playing there once again.
The Dolphins and new head coach Jeff Hafley just hired Bobby Slowik this offseason to be their offensive coordinator, and Njoku's skill set would fit perfectly in that offense. The Dolphins were so desperate at tight end this past season that they called Darren Waller out of retirement.
I would expect them to reset at the position and a veteran like Njoku could be a great go-to weapon in their offense, although we have no clue who is going to be throwing him passes at this point.
2. Carolina Panthers
If there's one team in the NFL that needs tight end help desperately, it's got to be the Carolina Panthers. Tommy Tremble has not yet reached even 300 receiving yards in any one of his five NFL seasons, and the Panthers were one of just a couple of NFL teams to not have a single tight end among the top 32 players at that position in receiving yards.
The need for someone to provide at least the semblance of a threat in the passing game has reached desperation status.
It would be a shocker if the Panthers don't go after a tight end in free agency, and Njoku would be a huge pickup for that offense.
3. San Francisco 49ers
One team that might be sneaky aggressive in pursuit of help at the tight end position this offseason is the San Francisco 49ers.
The 49ers lost George Kittle in the Wild Card round of the playoffs to an Achilles injury, so he will be out for 9-12 months depending on how that recovery process goes. Although the 49ers have young players at that position they believe in, someone like Njoku could actually be expected to provide the same type of spark in the passing game that Kittle brings to the table.
Ironically, Njoku and Kittle were part of the same draft class back in 2017, which also just so happens to be the first draft class for John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan together in San Francisco.