The Cleveland Browns have gotten great contributions from Nick Chubb during his time in Cleveland. From the moment John Dorsey traded away Carlos Hyde to force Hue Jackson to give Chubb carries, the Georgia prospect has made a lot out of a little.
Chubb’s combination of vision, balance and strength has put him in a position to make plays when a play isn’t there to be made. He has shown the perfect ability to see a hole developing on the backside and cut back at the right moment. Tacklers often glance off of him as he stays low into contact and explodes out of it at just the right moment.
While the Browns have been able to give him some rest with the addition of Kareem Hunt, Chubb has still produced. In 2019, despite Freddie Kitchens struggles calling plays, Chubb ran for just under 1,500 yards on less than 300 carries. Last year, despite missing four games and having less than 200 carries, Chubb still put up over 1,000 yards rushing.
Not only does Chubb put up raw numbers but he has done so in spite of expectations per play:
did this a couple months ago! pic.twitter.com/acw6lYikfz
— Michigan Football Analytics (@mfbanalytics) July 14, 2021
The best way to read this chart is that Chubb’s runs were expected to create less than 0.00 EPA (Expected Points Added) but he regularly produced more yards per rush than was expected. The outliers on charts like these are always the most interesting. Cam Newton, for example, made a lot out of plays that were expected to produce a lot.
Chubb stands out, along with Jamaal Charles, for his ability to make plays despite lowered expectations for those plays.
None of that is surprising to Browns fans who have watched the former second-round pick bounce off of tacklers, find creases few do and carry defenders a yard or two extra quite often. Chubb makes a lot out of a little and has throughout his young career.
