BEREA, Ohio — Sitting in the Browns meeting rooms, you might see a toy pickup truck lying around. It might seem out of place in an NFL building, but those trucks are hard-earned currency for the players who get them.
Every week, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt tracks pickups—when a player helps his teammates up after a play. Pelt sees that as a crucial stat that doesn't show up on the box score but changes the dynamic of a team.
"When I played, I always tried to be the first one to help guys up off the field. That's just something I always believed in. The tighter the group, the more success you have and that's just something that I've always done and these guys have all bought in across the board, as a team, and it's awesome to see. You hate to see a guy lay there and then guys walk away and we won't put that on film," Van Pelt said.
So, to foster that and encourage pickups, Van Pelt created a reward system.
After a game, the offensive coordinator goes back and counts the players who helped their teammates up after a play. The player who has the most that week earns a toy pickup truck.
Plenty of players have earned themselves a toy truck because this team is all about camaraderie, but a few have led the team in pickups and have had a unique trophy of sorts to display to their peers.
On the offensive line, Ethan Pocic has earned himself a truck. In the running backs room, Jerome Ford always lends a hand when it's not him being picked up after a run. But the overall winner has been tight end David Njoku, who is always there with his hand out, ready to support his teammates.
"Dave's probably had five or six on the season so far. He won one last week as well as did Harry. So our tight end group had a ton of pickups and that's what we are all about, that when we play connected as a unit and as a team and we play for each other," Van Pelt said.
Njoku said it's not so much about getting the trucks, which he said he might give to his daughter, but more about showing appreciation for his teammates.
"I wouldn't say that the pride comes from getting the truck. I'd say it comes from just making sure that nobody, none of us get up by ourselves. I think we take great pride in that," Njoku said.
The team sees that effort and acknowledges how impactful it truly is.
"He’s a positive force in this building, both on the practice field, in the locker room, on the game field. He brings such great energy to this team. And when I say that specifically, he picks his teammates up more than anybody on our team," said head coach Kevin Stefanski.
But it goes beyond helping his teammates off the ground. This season has seen Njoku come into his own and shine as a star on the offense in any role—receiving, blocking, anything he's asked to do.
"Couldn't be more happy for Dave. When we first got here, it wasn't always smooth sailing and he's really bought in and it shows and Kevin's got a great trust and belief in him as well and it's great to see that he's thriving right now. Really happy," Van Pelt said. "I think the person he is, he's prideful. He wants to be successful and a lot of times when guys get frustrated early, it's because they're not having the success that they feel like they need to have. And Dave, he worked through that and then he became an unbelievable blocker, took his game to the next level on the blocking and just stayed the course and worked and worked and worked."
Acknowledging the pickups on the team with a toy truck might seem like a small gesture. But when guys like Njoku, Pocic, Ford and others embrace it, it becomes ingrained in the culture of the team. To have the pickup truck in your hands means you embraced the culture and have something to show for it.
With a group of highly competitive guys, that kind of acknowledgment not only fosters a sense of camaraderie for the player who holds the toy but also embodies what this team is all about.
"The act, it really shows that we really play for each other. We love each other. This is probably the most in-tune team I've ever played with, the chemistry and the love we have for each other. You know what I mean? I think that's really what you need to be successful to win is to play (for) more than just yourself," Njoku said.
