Cleveland Browns Offensive Star OUT vs. New York Giants
The Cleveland Browns and quarterback Deshaun Watson will be without one of the offense’s top weapons for a second consecutive week on Sunday afternoon against the New York Giants.
Friday afternoon, the Browns officially ruled tight end David Njoku out for Week 3, representing his second consecutive game he’ll be sidelined after suffering an ankle injury in the season-opener against the Dallas Cowboys.
Njoku’s ankle sprain came during a 33-17 blowout loss, in which he caught four passes for 44 yards.
Losing Njoku for a second straight game further opens the door for Jordan Akins, who has caught just four passes for 37 yards through the first two games this season
The star tight end hasn’t practiced all week, which makes it unsurprising that he won’t be able to play against the Giants, who are in search of their first win of the 2024 NFL season.
What Kareem Hunt can realistically provide the Chiefs’ offense
The Kansas City Chiefs signed their former running back Kareem Hunt to the practice squad on Tuesday, which corresponded with the team putting starting running back Isiah Pacheco on the injured reserve with a leg injury.
Since his release from the Chiefs in 2018, Hunt has spent the last five seasons as a member of the Cleveland Browns, where he spent time backing up Nick Chubb and in tandem with other running backs.
At 29 years old with over 1000 carries under his belt, Hunt is not the player he used to be, but he can still provide valuable contributions to the Chiefs as they look for someone to step up in the absence of Pacheco.
In the red zone
2023 marked some of the lowest production of Hunt’s career from a yards per carry standpoint — only averaging three yards—, but it did mark a career-high for him in another category.
Hunt scored nine rushing touchdowns in 2023 — tied for 11th in the NFL— and was nearly automatic when inside the 5-yard line.
Hunt has lost some of the speed and explosion that Chiefs fans might remember on his longer breakaway runs, but his contact balance and physical demeanor are still present.
Cleveland runs a pin-and-pull look inside the 5-yard line, with an extra offensive lineman serving as a fullback. On the snap, Hunt takes the handoff and begins to scan what his blockers are doing. As the kick-out man hits an EOL defender, the lead blocker takes an inside-out path on a linebacker.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65080106/1168686682.jpg.0.jpg)
Hunt has to make a quick decision, but ultimately he decides to cut inside of his lead blocker and absorbs contact from defenders in pursuit on his way to the endzone.
During his time in Cleveland, Hunt was a great fit for the Browns’ power running game, and his willingness to go all out for his team rewarded him.
