According to David Njoku, the Cleveland Browns have the means to be great in the NFL this year.

The Cleveland Browns have only once made the playoffs and have never played in the Super Bowl, but tight end David Njoku predicted on ESPN that the 2023–2024 campaign will be their best to date.

Njoku, a Nigerian-American, was drafted by the Browns in 2017 after being selected from the Miami Hurricanes. He was a member of the team that qualified for the playoffs in 2020–21 for the first time in 18 years.

“I’ve been in the NFL for seven years now, having played in both the college and professional leagues… We have everything we need to be great this year, in my opinion,” Njoku told ESPN.

“I’ve been assuming more and more of a leadership role lately, and it’s not so much about my personal qualities as it is about motivating your team to succeed. I pay closer attention now. I watch things develop and witness a massive increase in chemistry.

“Knowing your coach, knowing your teammates, and getting to know each player has been a big step in the right direction, even though the season hasn’t even begun yet.

“Everything has aligned in the right way and organically at that, so I’m just really excited and I know everyone loves talking about what they can achieve, but I’d rather just show this year that we’re a force to be reckoned with.”

With four championships from the 1940s All-America Football Conference (AAFC), the team was the most successful in the nation. They added four more in the early years of the NFL before merging with the American Football League (AFL) in 1970.

But the Browns haven’t appeared in the championship game since January 1967, when the Super Bowl first began.

Their four games in the preseason have resulted in one victory, one tie, and two losses. Despite losing by one game to the Kansas City Chiefs and two to the Washington Commanders this weekend, they will find comfort in the scorelines of their defeats.