David Njoku in the NFL
In the NFL. Photo: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Tight end, Miami, 2014–⁠16

David Njoku

Lettered 2015–⁠16 (school media guide)

Number
No. 86
Height
6′4″
Hometown
Cedar Grove, NJ
Born
Jul 10, 1996, in Cedar Grove, New Jersey

Wikipedia readers: about 17,700 a month over the past year

David Njoku played tight end at Miami (2014–⁠16). The Cleveland Browns took Njoku in the first round, No. 29 overall in the 2017 NFL Draft.

At a glance

Best season
698
Receiving yards, 2016 (Miami, 9–⁠4)
Drafted
No. 29
Overall, 2017 NFL Draft (Cleveland Browns)

Career highs

6catches, career hightwice; last at NC State, 2016134receiving yards, career highvs. Duke, 20162receiving touchdowns, career hightwice; last vs. Duke, 2016

Receiving

Receiving yards, season by season, with his team’s record
SeasonTeamRecYdsAvgTDLong
2015Miami2136217.2158
2016Miami4369816.2876
Career641,06016.6976

Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls.

On the roster

SeasonTeamNo.PosHt
2014Miami86TE
2015Miami86TE
2016Miami86TE6′4″

As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.

Per play

SeasonTeamPlaysEPA/playPctileMedianTotalUsage
2015Miami350.6469th (n=465)0.5322.55%
2016Miami680.7884th (n=489)0.5252.98%

Expected points added: how much the player’s plays moved the team’s expected score, per play and in total. Plays: total EPA divided by EPA per play, the plays the source credits to him (for a receiver roughly his catches and runs, not every target; for a passer, not every attempt), so it can differ from attempts plus carries. Percentile: against the position’s regulars that season across all divisions on file (quarterbacks with 150+ plays, backs 60+, receivers and tight ends 30+), with how many there were (n) and their median; a dash means too few plays to rank. A season in progress uses the full-season bar scaled by games played, never below 75 plays for quarterbacks, 30 for backs and 20 for receivers. The cohort grows or shrinks with the source’s coverage each season (2025 lists far more players), so compare percentiles rather than raw EPA across years. FCS seasons are marked. Usage: the share of the team’s plays the player was part of (shown from 20 plays). From CollegeFootballData, 2013 on.

Game by game

2016 Miami 12 games, 43 catches, 698 yards, 8 TD
DateOpponentResultRecYdsTDLong
Sep 3vs.Florida A&MW 70–⁠3215013
Sep 10vs.Florida AtlanticW 38–⁠10249046
Sep 17atApp StateW 45–⁠10369154
Oct 8vs.Florida StateL 19–⁠2031709
Oct 15vs.North CarolinaL 13–⁠20482033
Oct 20atVirginia TechL 16–⁠37369048
Oct 29atNotre DameL 27–⁠30445121
Nov 5vs.PittsburghW 51–⁠28686230
Nov 12atVirginiaW 34–⁠1431617
Nov 19atNC StateW 27–⁠13672023
Nov 26vs.DukeW 40–⁠212134276
Dec 28 ✦vs.West VirginiaW 31–⁠14544123
2015 Miami 10 games, 21 catches, 362 yards, 1 TD
DateOpponentResultRecYdsTDLong
Sep 19vs.NebraskaW 36–⁠33223013
Oct 1atCincinnatiL 23–⁠34140040
Oct 10atFlorida StateL 24–⁠29233020
Oct 17vs.Virginia TechW 30–⁠20350023
Oct 31atDukeW 30–⁠27229026
Nov 7vs.VirginiaW 27–⁠21263158
Nov 14atNorth CarolinaL 21–⁠59132032
Nov 21vs.Georgia TechW 38–⁠21252033
Nov 27atPittsburghW 29–⁠24539015
Dec 26 ✦vs.Washington StateL 14–⁠201101

Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.

Before the draft

DrillCombine 2017Combine or pro day 2017
Height6′4″
Weight246 lb
Arm length35¼″
Hand size10″
Wingspan82½″W
40-yard dash4.64 s
10-yard split1.65 s
Vertical jump37½″
Broad jump11′1″
Bench press21 reps
3-cone drill6.97 s
20-yard shuttle4.34 s

Combine or pro day: the source doesn’t say which. Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

In the NFL

10 seasons, 114 games with a stat; latest team: Los Angeles Chargers.

Pro Bowl: 2023

SeasonTeamGRecYdsTD
2017Cleveland Browns16323864
2018Cleveland Browns15566394
2019Cleveland Browns35411
2020Cleveland Browns11192132
2021Cleveland Browns15364754
2022Cleveland Browns14586284
2023Cleveland Browns16818826
2024Cleveland Browns11645055
2025Cleveland Browns11332934
2026 (so far)Los Angeles Chargers26670
NFL career1143904,12934

Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat. Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams by NFL season: rosters and honors, Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

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