The Scouting Academy’s Dan Hatman and the RSP’s Matt Waldman conduct a deep-dive into Cleveland running back Nick Chubb’s upside in the Browns’ offensive scheme.
Nick Chubb is my candidate to become the next 2,000-yard rusher in the NFL. I’ve been saying this privately for over a year. I know it’s a low-odds proposition, but the fact I think Chubb is the most likely to do it is a testament to his rare skills.
Chubb is an athletic dynamo equipped with decision-making expertise that any NFL running back’s coach could use as a training tape for young backs entering the league. Dan Hatman and I watched two hours of cutups from Chubb’s game to project how he’ll perform in Kevin Stefanski’s outside zone scheme that he used last year in Minnesota.
We picked alignments common to Cleveland’s new scheme and runs where Chubb faced at least seven defenders in the box. The tape reveals a running back with an unwavering dedication to using the scheme to create open lanes and elite flexion, burst, contact balance, and skill to run through or avoid wraps to his legs.
Chubb exhibits such strong knowledge of his run schemes that his movement literally runs defenders into blockers who otherwise wouldn’t have had a chance to make a play. These are all plays where the defenses should have held Chubb well under four yards but they failed to do so thanks mostly to Chubb.
When you finish watching this analysis, you’ll understand why Chubb is a special NFL back on a team that is about to get the most out of him.
Here’s the complete menu with timestamps so you can pick what you want to watch.
Timestamps!
- WEEK 2 @ NYJ (3 PLAYS)
- WEEK 4 @ BAL (3 PLAYS)
- WEEK 5 @ SF (4 PLAYS)
- WEEK 6 VS SEA (3 PLAYS)
- WEEK 8 @ NE (5 PLAYS)
- 1:02:48 – “WHEN ITS TIME TO BE DRAMATIC, HE’S IN A POSITION TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT WITH HIS FEET”
- 1:05:51 – THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PROCESSING AND VISION
- 1:10:00 – “THE CONFIDENCE COMES FROM UNDERSTANDING THE SCHEME”
- 1:11:50 – “BILL BELICHICK IS LITERALLY SAYING I COULD HAVE HAD NICK CHUBB”
- 1:13:25 – MANIPULATING DEFENDERS TO SET UP BLOCKS
- WEEK 9 @ DEN (2 PLAYS)
- WEEK 10 VS BUF (1 PLAY)
- 1:20:30 – “HE JUST MAKES THIS FIRST DOWN GAIN LOOK EASY”
- WEEK 11 VS PIT (5 PLAYS)
- WEEK 12 VS MIA (4 PLAYS)
- WEEK 15 @ ARZ (4 PLAYS)
- WEEK 16 VS BAL (2 PLAYS)
- VIKINGS PLAYS –1:45:11
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