The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Offense’s potential excites new TE
Austin Hooper had a pretty good idea he would playing in Cleveland in 2020 and beyond even before his agent landed him a deal with the Browns on the first day of legal tampering to make him the highest paid tight end in the NFL.
Hooper, along with Jordan Cameron, Gary Barnidge and 16 other active or former NFL players, belong to the American Football Without Borders (AFWB) Foundation, an organization Barnidge created in 2014.
They annually travel to a foreign country to put on a camp for the host city’s youth to learn how football in the United States is played.
The AFWB entourage was in Budapest, Hungary last month. The group has also been to Oberhausen, Germany; Helsinki, Finland; Cairo, Egypt and Istanbul, Turkey over the years.
Barnidge (2013-16) and Cameron (2011-14) are former Browns tight ends.
The AFWB group puts on an extensive program, but there is always some down time, and when they weren’t teaching young Hungarians what a quarterback does, why blocking is important and what blitzing means in football, the instructors talked about their lives.
Hooper, after four years with the Falcons, asked questions about free agency.
“It was good being overseas with them for a week,” Hooper said March 24 on a
conference call. “I kind of had an idea of places (NFL teams) I wanted to go.
“One of the teams they both were talking about in a very positive way was Cleveland, just speaking about the fan base and the city itself. By the time the Browns and I were actually able to speak for the first time, which was the first day of legal tampering period (March 16), it was kind of already playing into my mind as a potential spot I really wanted to go, and I’m really excited.”
Hooper, 25, is coming off two Pro Bowl seasons with the Falcons. He caught 71 passes for 660 yards and four touchdowns in 2018 and 75 passes for 787 yards and six touchdowns last season. A knee injury in Atlanta’s ninth game in 2019 forced him to miss the next three games. He caught two passes then three and then seven in each of his last two games after returning from the injury.
“I was on pace right before I got hit low to pass 1,000 yards last year, so that was the ultimate goal
for me,” Hooper said. “Being a mid-round (third) draft pick, being a guy who didn’t really become a fulltime starter until his second year and then every year in the league, just trying to get better, I feel like that’s just my whole goal overall.”
So now Coach Kevin Stefanski and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt have the challenge of producing points while keeping so many stars — wide receivers Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr., running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt plus Hooper and fellow tight end David Njoku, and of course quarterback Baker Mayfield — content. Former head coach Freddie Kitchens and former offensive coordinator Todd Monken failed last year, and both were fired.
“Versatility is a big word for us when it comes to our offensive attack,” Stefanski said when Hooper signed his four-year, $42 million contract last week. “To have multiple tight ends allows you to do so many different things. I was fortunate
last year to have multiple tight ends (with the Vikings) and deploy them in varying ways.”
Chubb, Hunt, Landry, Beckham and Njoku combined for 22 touchdowns last season. Overall the Browns scored more points in 2018 — 359 — compared to 335 in 2019 despite adding Beckham and Hunt (Hunt played in only the final eight games) last season.
“It’s just on paper one of the most talented entities in all of football,” Hooper said of the 2020 Browns. “Just take a look, especially on the offensive side of the ball, at the guys on the perimeter with Odell (Beckham) and Jarvis, having a talented quarterback like Baker, having a talented tight end like David Njoku and having some really good O linemen.
“To add that with a pair of really talented running backs just on the offensive side of the football is just way too exciting of an opportunity to pass it up.”
The Browns finished 22nd in points scored last year.