Nick Chubb’s total numbers for his rookie season don’t initially stand out as outstanding, but they must be looked at in the context of the Browns 2018 season. Over the first 6 weeks of 2018, Chubb averaged just 2.6 carries per game, stuck behind Carlos Hyde on the depth chart and plagued by the inadequacies of his head coach and offensive coordinator. But after Week 6, Hyde was traded to Jacksonville, and the incompetent Hue Jackson and Todd Haley were canned 10 days later. In 10 games after assuming Cleveland’s starting role, Chubb’s per-game averages jumped to 17.6 carries and 82.3 yards along with 6 TDs over those final 10 weeks. Even with Kareem Hunt now on the Browns depth chart, Chubb remains the teams starter — at least for the first 8 games, which Hunt is suspended for. Beyond that? It’s anyone’s guess.
Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens is not Hue Jackson or Todd Haley; by that, I mean he’s not an idiot. If Chubb has an 8-week span similar to his final 10 games last year, he’ll have the starting job until he proves he can’t handle it. But even if Hunt’s presence cuts into Chubb’s carries a bit from Week 9 on, he’s still worth an early selection as the starting RB of what appears to be one of the most explosive offenses in football.
So, while Hunt’s looming presence for the second half of the season shouldn’t be ignored, don’t let it steer you away from Chubb. He was fantasy’s RB8 from Week 7 on last season, and had more carries than anyone in football besides Ezekiel Elliott and Saquon Barkley in that span. He jumped up from The Wolf’s RB17 to RB13 (Hunt comes in at RB32), and shouldn’t fall past the 3rd round by any means.
