David Njoku

BIOGRAPHY

David Njoku was born on July 10, 1996 in Cedar Grove, New Jersey. He is a tight end in the NFL.

Njoku played college football at Miami, and was drafted by the Browns in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Njoku is one of nine children born to Nigerian parents who immigrated to the United States. He attended Cedar Grove High School in Cedar Grove, New Jersey. During his career, he had 76 receptions for 1,794 yards and 19 touchdowns. He committed to the University of Miami to play college football. Njoku also competed in the high jump in high school, winning the national championship at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor his senior year in 2014.

During high school Njoku attended Cedar Grove High School in Cedar Grove, N.J He was second-team all-state selection. He finished his career with 1,794 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns on 76 receptions, rushed for 334 yards and six touchdowns on 39 carries. He won the national championship in boy’s high jump as a senior at the 2014 New Balance National Outdoor and his personal best in the high jump was 7 feet, 1 inch as a senior.

As a true freshman on 2014, he did not see any game action, and redshirted to retain eligibility. On 2015 Njoku saw action in all 13 games with four starts as team's top tight end target, he caught 21 passes for 362 yards, and got an 17.2 yards-per-catch average, being tops on team. He had one touchdown and averaged 30.1 yards per game. Njoku made his career debut vs. Bethune-Cookman (Sept. 5), he did not record any stats. By 2016 David delivered dominant season at tight end, seeing action in all 13 games with five starts. He earned All-ACC Honorable Mention recognition from Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association (ACSMA). Njoku caught 43 passes totaling 698 yards with eight touchdowns and averaged 16.2 yards per reception. Eight of his touchdowns were second-most.

Njoku received an invitation to the NFL Combine and completed all of the combine and positional drills. In addition, he attended Miami's Pro Day and opted to again perform the vertical jump, broad jump, short shuttle, 40-yard dash, 20-yard dash, and 10-yard dash. NFL draft experts and analysts projected Njoku to be selected in the first round of the draft. He was ranked the third best tight end available in the draft by Sports Illustrated and was ranked the second best tight end by ESPN, NFL analyst Mike Mayock, and NFL analyst Bucky Brooks.

The Cleveland Browns selected Njoku in the first round (29th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft. He was the third tight end to be selected in the draft. On June 15, 2017, the Cleveland Browns signed Njoku to a fully guaranteed, four-year, $9.52 million contract which included a signing bonus of $5.06 million.  On September 10, Njoku made his NFL debut in a 21–18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He had two receptions for 20 yards. In the Week 2 game against the Baltimore Ravens, he had three receptions for 27 yards and his first NFL touchdown in the 24–10 loss.

Njoku had volunteered at a number of local youth football camps, have participated in numerous First and Ten Tuesday events including a visit to “Halloween at the Hospital” and volunteering at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. He participated for Town Hall’s Feed the Need event and for the My Cause My Cleats found, he choose to raise money for Hands Against Hunger, an organization focused on feeding malnourished youth.