<![CDATA[Two Tight End System?]]>OK, maybe I am biased toward the position, I played TE (was nothing great, 1 TD in my life).

I think back to the Parcells Giants teams of the 80s and remember Mark Bavaro's impact in a lot of games. He would light opponents up down the seam in a critical moment and force defenses to carefully monitor all three levels.

Novacek in Dallas in the 90s was a terrific weapon since teams had to defend the run (Smith) and long ball (Irving), again, all three levels.

Gronkowski and Hernandez were a devastating TE tandem until the law became involved. They may have gone on to become a historic duo if not. Last year NE's TE tandem rocked our worlds (article in full below).

So, I have to ask, in your humble opinion, do you think we are looking at something similar with DeValve and Djoku? And, should we? That is, do we have to consider something like that due to our inexperienced receiving corps? And it may also help our run blocking to have both on the field strategically.

Let's hear it. And remember, I am biased. (Also, I realize there is no Gronk on our roster).

The Browns defense didn’t know how to handle the Patriots two star tight ends.
by Rich Hill@PP_Rich_Hill Oct 10, 2016, 2:00pm EDT
  • The New England Patriots finally unleashed the two tight end offense that everyone had been waiting for and, boy, it might have exceeded expectations. After playing 2-TE sets on roughly 30% of snaps over the first four weeks, the Patriots doubled it to almost 60% against the Browns.

The results were fantastic. Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett combined for 176 yards and 3 touchdowns on 11 receptions and they both added some high level blocking to round out their versatility.

Gronkowski and Bennett “at tight end has been a tough matchup for other teams,” Patriots QB Tom Brady said after the game. “We just have to keep doing it, keep putting pressure on the defense. I think we did a good job with that today.”

Gronkowski and Bennett are enjoying playing on the field together because they take pressure away from one another and make each other better.

“[bennett is] a great player, great dude and a great teammate to have out there,” Gronkowski said. “You learn a lot from a guy who has about nine years in the league. We've been waiting for this moment since we got together to both get out on the field both healthy. It's great working with each other, and we just have to keep improving every week and keep helping each other out."

"I love playing with Gronk,” Bennett said. “I'm very excited for him. It's pretty dynamic with both of us out there today and he played very well. I expect him to continue to play like that. That's what Gronk is. That's what Gronk does. That's why he's the ‘Gronkinator'."

New T-Shirt: Black Unicorn and the Incredible Gronk!

What makes the Patriots tight end duo so difficult to defend is that they can block and catch on any given play.

Linebackers can’t cover either player one-on-one and defenses have to double-cover Gronkowski. There are only so many defenders to go around, with Bennett’s second touchdown grab a good example:

Gronkowski is isolated on the far side of the field, while Bennett is inline on the nearside. Julian Edelman is in the near slot and Chris Hogan is on the near sideline. D.J. Foster is in the backfield.

The Browns elect to rush six, which means that there are only five players able to drop into coverage. Since the Browns double cover Gronkowski, Foster actually leaks out of the backfield without anyone in coverage.

"Yeah, [the double coverage] was great, that's why it's a team game,” Gronkowski said after the game. “The two defenders come to me and leave Marty in the red zone one-on-one. So it gives other people opportunities to capitalize on them. That's why it's such a great sport to play because it's such a team sport.”

Brady throws a strike to Bennett, who is single covered by a linebacker. This is an easy choice for Brady.

Alternatively, the Browns have to respect the blocking ability of both tight ends, which makes the threat of the play action so much more dangerous. Here’s how it works on Bennett’s third touchdown of the day.

The Patriots set up with two tight ends on the right side of the formation and block as if LeGarrette Blount is going to receive the hand off and run around the end. This causes the Browns linebackers and defensive backs to step up to the line of scrimmage.

Bennett and Gronkowski detach from the line and run down the field and away from the momentum of the Browns defenders. Both tight ends are wide open, but Bennett was more open on the sideline, away from the deep safety.

When the Patriots can hit these plays, it prevents the linebackers from crashing against the run and it makes the game a lot easier for Blount to produce.

“It was tough,” Browns head coach Hue Jackson said about facing the two tight ends. “Obviously, those guys made a lot of plays. The match-up looked like it did. It wasn't as good on our side.”

The Browns are very young on defense so these opportunities might not present themselves against more veteran squads, but Gronkowski and Bennett exceeded all expectations in their first game where both were close to healthy.

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@orion said:

I see the slot being a position for really 'quick' guys. Not so much for TE's. Which is what we drafted him for...knowing that he doesn't have NFL H-back quickness.

Frank Wycheck made Pro Bowls as an NFL H-back so I'm not buying your pov that DeValve doesn't have H-back quickness. I also don't think they were trying to draft the next Mark Bavaro when DeValve is only 6'3" so I shared the article about what DeValve played at Princeton. FWIW, Anquan Boldin was never really quick as he was precise and his 40 times that put him into round 2 (instead of round 1) are indicative of that. And the 6'2" Mohamed Sanu that Hue used in the slot in Cincy in 2015 when they went 12-4 wasn't a lightning quick little guy either. He was more of a bigger receiver Hue wanted isolated on a stereotypical sized 3rd corner ranging anywhere from 5'9" to 5'11" in hopes of an advantage worth tapping. I'm thinking Hue sees more of this role for DeValve as well as any double tight work he can as well.

Your point I disagreed with most was when you said we drafted Njoku in the first round because the Browns were disappointed in DeValve. I clarified Barnidge was the guy who got his walking papers while I think the Browns see DeValve as a versatile guy they can line up inside or outside, on or off the line of scrimmage.

I think I explained everything about DeValve (using his own words) in the part of the article I shared. Here's a cut and paste of that and I'm bolding the part shaping my pov today. Here's part of an article titled "Browns coveted Princeton TE Seth DeValve for his mismatch potential" from Andrew Gribble I found on him in www.clevelandbrowns.com: as DeValve described it, he was an "H-back adjuster" who moved all across the field like a chess piece. On some plays he'd line up wide, on some he'd be in the slot and some he'd have his hand in the dirt like a traditional TE. "I was doing TE in various amounts depending on the year," DeValve said. "I was always used as a hybrid TE/WR so to say I'm making a transition from WR to TE isn't extremely accurate."

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/714520https://brownsboard.com/post/714520Mon, 10 Jul 2017 12:00:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Two Tight End System? on Sun, 09 Jul 2017 18:20:19 GMT]]>

@flugel said:

With Hawkins gone, are we positive we won't be seeing DeValve in the slot at all this year?

I see the slot being a position for really 'quick' guys. Not so much for TE's. Which is what we drafted him for...knowing that he doesn't have NFL H-back quickness.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/714519https://brownsboard.com/post/714519Sun, 09 Jul 2017 18:20:19 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Two Tight End System? on Sun, 09 Jul 2017 14:55:53 GMT]]>

@tour2ma said:

For me the slot has to be reserved for a very good WR who simply has issues getting off the line vs. press coverage. If at his size that is Devalve, then he does not have a place in this league.

In many cases, this is true Tour.

I have some examples of otherwise/exceptions to the rule. A lot of people forget Randy Moss was a slot receiver the year he was the ROTY in Minnesota with Jake Reed and Cris Carter starting outside.

Larry Fitzgerald was moved to Slot Receiver when Arians got to Arizona. Eric Decker has played some Slot Receiver. Jarvis Landry played a lot in the slot and he's a pretty strong guy. I think a compact guy like Wes Welker began in the slot. Hasn't Anquan Boldin played in the slot at certain parts of his career?

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/714507https://brownsboard.com/post/714507Sun, 09 Jul 2017 14:55:53 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Two Tight End System? on Sun, 09 Jul 2017 14:46:44 GMT]]>For me the slot has to be reserved for a very good WR who simply has issues getting off the line vs. press coverage. If at his size that is Devalve, then he does not have a place in this league.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/714506https://brownsboard.com/post/714506Sun, 09 Jul 2017 14:46:44 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Two Tight End System? on Sun, 09 Jul 2017 12:29:20 GMT]]>

@orion said:

Certainly losing the starting job is much worse for Kessler than DeValve. I mean, how many two QB sets are there?

None the less, drafting a TE in round 1 is not a resounding vote of confidence in DeValve.

That's one way of looking at it. However, Barnidge is the TE that got his walking papers (not DeValve). Also keep in mind, DeValve was a 4th round draft pick out of the Ivy League that began as a WR and was listed as a WR on his Princeton bio page (info from the article I list below) so I don't see the choice of Njoku as an insult to DeValve. I don't really get the vibe our Coaching staff and FO is down on DeValve. I think they like how many ways they can use him.

Here's part of an article titled "Browns coveted Princeton TE Seth DeValve for his mismatch potential" from Andrew Gribble I found on him in www.clevelandbrowns.com: as DeValve described it, he was an "H-back adjuster" who moved all across the field like a chess piece. On some plays he'd line up wide, on some he'd be in the slot and some he'd have his hand in the dirt like a traditional TE. "I was doing TE in various amounts depending on the year," DeValve said. "I was always used as a hybrid TE/WR so to say I'm making a transition from WR to TE isn't extremely accurate."

Sounds like a nice guy to have if nobody can step up at WR. We got Hawkins as a FA from Cincy. When the 5'6"/5'7" Hawk departed, the guy that played in the slot for Cincy during their 12-4 season in 2015 was a 6'2" Mohamed Sanu. When they wanted any compact shake and bake they often looked to their 5'9" 205 lb RB Giovani Benard. They drafted Eifert to play TE and he contributed 10 TD receptions. They also had a 6'4" WR AJ Green enjoying 10 TDs 86 rec 1297 yards and a 6'2" Marvin Jones contributing 65 rec for 816 yards and 4 TDs. Long story short, the bigger catch radius and size of targets were extremely helpful to the QB of this offense Hue coordinated.

It looks to me like Hue and the FO want to set something up similar here. Duke Johnson is the compact Giovani Benard receiving back. Clearly, we don't have an AJ Green at 6'4" but the 6'3" Kenny Britt was a 1st round pick who is coming off his best season receptions-wise (and he DID stay at a Holiday Inn). DeValve looks like he will either be the Slot Receiver Mo Sanu equiv or TE Ryan Hewitt (he resembles less IMO). The one part I don't find parallel is the 5'11" Corey Coleman to the 6'2" Marvin Jones (who now plays for Detroit) but the 6'2" Ricardo Louis is the guy they kept putting out there the 6 weeks Coleman was injured. Other options are all 6'0" or taller: Payton, Higgins and Hall.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/714497https://brownsboard.com/post/714497Sun, 09 Jul 2017 12:29:20 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Two Tight End System? on Sun, 09 Jul 2017 11:11:43 GMT]]>

@orion said:

He played in 12 games but only registered stats in 8 games. One catch per game, except against the Giants he had 3 for 39 yards.

DeValve doesn't have to share snaps with Barnidge any more.....but they drafted a TE in round 1.

Kessler and DeValve have seen the Browns spend high draft picks to take the starting jobs.

With Hawkins gone, are we positive we won't be seeing DeValve in the slot at all this year?

Back when we drafted DeValve, he was listed as a WR by Pro Football Weekly and as a WR/TE by the Browns. Now I could be wrong here and the Browns could be sizing him up for a big role blocking people (ie; he gained 10 lbs & he's now listed only as a TE); but I'm thinking he'd would be a really nice size advantage over all the #3 corners we haven't had.

Would this suck?

TE - Njoku, Slot Rec - DeValve, WR - Britt, WR - Coleman

If not, we'll be prolly be using a lot of 2 TE sets with Njoku and DeValve anyway.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/714495https://brownsboard.com/post/714495Sun, 09 Jul 2017 11:11:43 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Two Tight End System? on Sun, 09 Jul 2017 11:07:46 GMT]]>

@baconhound said:

Hernandez and Gronk were both weapons

Certainly losing the starting job is much worse for Kessler than DeValve. I mean, how many two QB sets are there?

None the less, drafting a TE in round 1 is not a resounding vote of confidence in DeValve.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/714494https://brownsboard.com/post/714494Sun, 09 Jul 2017 11:07:46 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Two Tight End System? on Sun, 09 Jul 2017 02:59:23 GMT]]>Hernandez and Gronk were both weapons not sure if the current Browns have those guys on the roster. Glad the Browns didn't invest long term in either him or Pryor.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/714489https://brownsboard.com/post/714489Sun, 09 Jul 2017 02:59:23 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Two Tight End System? on Sun, 09 Jul 2017 02:34:54 GMT]]>

@unsympathetic said:

Don't forget about DeValve..

He played in 12 games but only registered stats in 8 games. One catch per game, except against the Giants he had 3 for 39 yards.

DeValve doesn't have to share snaps with Barnidge any more.....but they drafted a TE in round 1.

Kessler and DeValve have seen the Browns spend high draft picks to take the starting jobs.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/714486https://brownsboard.com/post/714486Sun, 09 Jul 2017 02:34:54 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Two Tight End System? on Sat, 08 Jul 2017 16:29:00 GMT]]>Don't forget about DeValve..

PFF Link 1

PFF Link 2 - in the graph

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@texasag1969 said:

BTW former Texas A&M 5 star WR recruit Ricky Seals-Jones signed as a FA with Ariz. and is making the conversion to TE @ 6'5" 250 lbs, just as I suggested earlier this year. He should have stayed in school and made the conversion his senior year much like our former RB Brandon Williams did to CB his senior year and is now a starter for Ariz.in the NFL as a CB. Stupid is as stupid does. Tough to learn a position while trying to make a team with no prior experience in that position.

Glad he's gone. Real football players might get on the field now.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/714417https://brownsboard.com/post/714417Sat, 08 Jul 2017 05:38:44 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Two Tight End System? on Fri, 07 Jul 2017 19:34:46 GMT]]>

@tim-couch-pulls-out said:

I'm not a Barnidge apologist by any means, but that's not exactly a fair argument. There was never an opportunity for Barnidge to receive targets. 2015 really represented the first opportunity for him as a lead TE or not behind a HOF WR and Barnidge responded accordingly.

For the first two years of his career, he was third fiddle TE on a team that had bad QB play and only targeted their TE's about 60 or so times a season collectively. CAR was all WR - Muhammad and Smith were bringing in 100-130 targets each. Then a down year with Claustrich at the helm, and CAR brought in Olson (and Shockey for a season). Barnidge was never a lead TE for them, never received any significant targets, and never stood a chance.

I understand the Barnidge cut and I'm not saying we should have kept him. But he's a good player, a good teammate, and a good guy. As a lead TE, it's not without the realm of possibility that he'd be a 900 yd guy.

You make some really good points. Good post Couch! Believe it or not, I LIKED Barnidge as a person and as a role model for younger players (especially to show guys he could persevere if he kept working hard). He was also a good community guy that went over-seas to honor the troops. I think we all enjoyed what he did in 2015 enough to set up some expectations for 2016.

Unfortunately, the other side of this is - it's business. He was given a hefty raise at 30 years of age after only 1 season of performing like a starting TE that didn't block well. Nonetheless, that one season he gave us about 79 receptions (9 were TDs) for 1043 yards in 2015. 1 year later, he looked like he aged about 7 years just in terms of watching him struggle to get open (often looking like he was in a lot of pain) while we are all aware our QBs didn't do him very many favors. He lost 24 receptions and 7 TD receptions as well as about 431 receiving yards. The timing of the about-face couldn't have been worse for him while he was finally earning a dream salary he longed for. Consequently, the FO also had to do an about-face and come to grips with the reality he will be turning 32 in September (instead of looking at him like he offered us a continuity we could trust and move forward with via the raise). Now, TE returned to being a position we needed to upgrade; Barnidge was released and we selected the 20 year old David Njoku in round 1.

There's a lot of short windows in the NFL and this is a classic example...

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/714371https://brownsboard.com/post/714371Fri, 07 Jul 2017 19:34:46 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Two Tight End System? on Fri, 07 Jul 2017 18:23:17 GMT]]>

@flugel said:

Or, we could look at Barnidge's entire NFL career and see that 2015 was an exception to the rule. Let's try not pretend the QBing was terrific in 2015.

I'm not a Barnidge apologist by any means, but that's not exactly a fair argument. There was never an opportunity for Barnidge to receive targets. 2015 really represented the first opportunity for him as a lead TE or not behind a HOF WR and Barnidge responded accordingly.

For the first two years of his career, he was third fiddle TE on a team that had bad QB play and only targeted their TE's about 60 or so times a season collectively. CAR was all WR - Muhammad and Smith were bringing in 100-130 targets each. Then a down year with Claustrich at the helm, and CAR brought in Olson (and Shockey for a season). Barnidge was never a lead TE for them, never received any significant targets, and never stood a chance.

I understand the Barnidge cut and I'm not saying we should have kept him. But he's a good player, a good teammate, and a good guy. As a lead TE, it's not without the realm of possibility that he'd be a 900 yd guy.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/714367https://brownsboard.com/post/714367Fri, 07 Jul 2017 18:23:17 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Two Tight End System? on Fri, 07 Jul 2017 17:17:45 GMT]]>

@texasag1969 said:

BTW former Texas A&M 5 star WR recruit Ricky Seals-Jones signed as a FA with Ariz. and is making the conversion to TE @ 6'5" 250 lbs, just as I suggested earlier this year. He should have stayed in school and made the conversion his senior year much like our former RB Brandon Williams did to CB his senior year and is now a starter for Ariz.in the NFL as a CB. Stupid is as stupid does. Tough to learn a position while trying to make a team with no prior experience in that position.

Ricky Jones? Is Chuckie still in love?

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/714354https://brownsboard.com/post/714354Fri, 07 Jul 2017 17:17:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Two Tight End System? on Fri, 07 Jul 2017 15:07:14 GMT]]>BTW former Texas A&M 5 star WR recruit Ricky Seals-Jones signed as a FA with Ariz. and is making the conversion to TE @ 6'5" 250 lbs, just as I suggested earlier this year. He should have stayed in school and made the conversion his senior year much like our former RB Brandon Williams did to CB his senior year and is now a starter for Ariz.in the NFL as a CB. Stupid is as stupid does. Tough to learn a position while trying to make a team with no prior experience in that position.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/714340https://brownsboard.com/post/714340Fri, 07 Jul 2017 15:07:14 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Two Tight End System? on Sun, 02 Jul 2017 11:40:24 GMT]]>

@jcam222 said:

Barns less than 1000 yards last year had plenty to do with QB play

Or, we could look at Barnidge's entire NFL career and see that 2015 was an exception to the rule. Let's try not pretend the QBing was terrific in 2015.

He had some drops in 2016 as well as some difficulty getting open when there weren't defensive breakdowns leaving him wide open. I remember the second time we played Cincy in 2015, they game planned to jam him at the los. This carried over into 2016 when a lot of our opponents did this to him; which left us counting on inexperienced first year starters at WRs (Pryor & Coleman/Louis). Makes sense to me. Aside from that, Barnidge looked like he was in pain via the way he was running/waddling at 31 years of age. 55 receptions wasn't horrible; but it was quite a drop off from 78 as was going from 9 TD receptions to just 2.

Hue loved using Ryan Hewitt as the HB in Cincy while his 6'6" TE Tyler's Eiferts provided 10 TD receptions in that red zone our team gagged on last year. Even Pryor, for the year he had going over 1000 yards receiving, could only score 4 TDs. Hue has to be pretty excited about DeValve & Njoku.

I know this goes against my level of trust here - but could you imagine if Josh Gordon could finally prioritize his life to the extent he could consistently pass enough piss tests to play ball? We'd have Josh Gordon, Kenny Britt, David Njoku, Seth DeValve and RB Duke Johnson giving Hue some similarity to AJ Green, Marvin Jones Jr, Ryan Hewitt, Tyler Eifert and RB Gio Bernard that he coordinated to a 12-4 record. We even have one of his OGs (Zeitler). I doubt we're going from 1-15 to 12-4 with he experience levels we're counting on here. The question is - can Kessler or Kizer be somewhat equivalent to Andy Dalton in one of his best years as a NFL QB?

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@mudfly said:

Im thinking Njoku could be the better prospect(over Howard), but just didnt get the exposure of an Alabama or the opportunities, from his system, to rack up the same numbers......pretty excited about him......

Gotta add, that when Barny went all 1000 yds, in "his year", I pointed out that it was a 1 year aberration...only to be shot down by the sunshine crowd....but, right again.....😉

Barns less than 1000 yards last year had plenty to do with QB play]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/713474https://brownsboard.com/post/713474Sun, 02 Jul 2017 02:21:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Two Tight End System? on Sat, 01 Jul 2017 22:22:25 GMT]]>

@flugel said:

Part of him did. Bavaro only had 25 catches for 315 yards and 2 TDs in 16 games; and he wasn't healthy enough to practice in between games. It was still pretty cool to see in him a Browns uniform though. It was also great to see Pepper Johnson and Carl Banks in a Browns uniform.

Not to mention RB Joe Morris.]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/713442https://brownsboard.com/post/713442Sat, 01 Jul 2017 22:22:25 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Two Tight End System? on Sat, 01 Jul 2017 21:49:16 GMT]]>I thought this was click bait for that homo ghoolie

My bad

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/713438https://brownsboard.com/post/713438Sat, 01 Jul 2017 21:49:16 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Two Tight End System? on Sat, 01 Jul 2017 21:32:51 GMT]]>

@tour2ma said:

Have to admit... I'd forgotten that Bavaro dropped in for a year with us.

Part of him did. Bavaro only had 25 catches for 315 yards and 2 TDs in 16 games; and he wasn't healthy enough to practice in between games. It was still pretty cool to see in him a Browns uniform though. It was also great to see Pepper Johnson and Carl Banks in a Browns uniform.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/713437https://brownsboard.com/post/713437Sat, 01 Jul 2017 21:32:51 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Two Tight End System? on Sat, 01 Jul 2017 16:03:20 GMT]]>Thanks, Flugs...

@mudfly said:

Im thinking Njoku could be the better prospect(over Howard), but just didnt get the exposure of an Alabama or the opportunities, from his system, to rack up the same numbers......pretty excited about him......

Gotta add, that when Barny went all 1000 yds, in "his year", I pointed out that it was a 1 year aberration...only to be shot down by the sunshine crowd....but, right again..... 😉

Pretty sure I was not one of the "shooters"...

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/713372https://brownsboard.com/post/713372Sat, 01 Jul 2017 16:03:20 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Two Tight End System? on Sat, 01 Jul 2017 14:21:06 GMT]]>

@mudfly said:

Im thinking Njoku could be the better prospect(over Howard), but just didnt get the exposure of an Alabama or the opportunities, from his system, to rack up the same numbers......pretty excited about him......

Gotta add, that when Barny went all 1000 yds, in "his year", I pointed out that it was a 1 year aberration...only to be shot down by the sunshine crowd....but, right again..... 😉

Yep, good stuff Mud! And he's only 20 while Barnidge will be turning 32 this Fall.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/713353https://brownsboard.com/post/713353Sat, 01 Jul 2017 14:21:06 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Two Tight End System? on Sat, 01 Jul 2017 14:07:33 GMT]]>Im thinking Njoku could be the better prospect(over Howard), but just didnt get the exposure of an Alabama or the opportunities, from his system, to rack up the same numbers......pretty excited about him......

Gotta add, that when Barny went all 1000 yds, in "his year", I pointed out that it was a 1 year aberration...only to be shot down by the sunshine crowd....but, right again.....😉

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/713350https://brownsboard.com/post/713350Sat, 01 Jul 2017 14:07:33 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Two Tight End System? on Sat, 01 Jul 2017 13:52:22 GMT]]>

@tour2ma said:

Have to admit... I'd forgotten that Bavaro dropped in for a year with us. But given his impact...

On Barn... he had one great receiving year in a favorable system with a relatively weak WR corps and a QB with whom he seemed to share a brain. He was never a good blocker. While I appreciate the memory of him being the bright spot he was in 2015, he simply was not a part of our TE future.

Well said Tour.

Keep in mind, after a career year in 2015 (that didn't resemble any other) with 9 TD receptions and something like 78 receptions - he got a hefty raise for it. Unfortunately, his reception volume decreased by about 23 receptions while he dropped to only 2 TD receptions in 2016 when he carried the bigger contract. To me, he looked like he was in pain when he was trying to get open last year. He may have only been 1 year older than he was in 2016 - but he ran at the speed of park at 31 years of age.

Prior to the draft my hope at #12 was OJ Howard. Having said that, I think the ceiling is just as high for Njoku and I like where we selected him in round 1. Late but early enough to prevent Pittsburgh from solidifying a very important prong of attack.

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