It’s safe to say that the University of Georgia is known as “Running Back U”. Players such as Herschel Walker, Todd Gurley, D’Andre Swift, Terrell Davis and Sony Michel all attended this school. So did a guy named Nick Chubb and when he was in college, I raved about him and was always excited to watch him play. In 2018, he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the NFL Draft with the 35th overall pick. Each year since his rookie campaign, Nick has climbed that ladder consistently. In 2021, he was rewarded by the Cleveland Browns with a contract extension that would keep him in Ohio for the foreseeable future. This Summer, the talk has been Running Backs and not getting paid. I understand why they aren’t because they unfortunately break down after a while. Last night in Pittsburgh, Nick took a hit that left him grabbing at his knee. The minute I saw that stretcher come out on the field, I knew it was something serious. It was a gruesome hyperextension of the knee he injured back in 2015 which means his season is officially done for 2023.
Nick has become one of the best Running Backs in the league. Over time, many positions change in the NFL but with him, he’s always played with the old school mentality. He’s a bigger back, but moves so fluidly in the open field with the ball in his hands. He has an unbelievable combination of field vision mixed with great instincts and tremendous balance. He may not say much, but the mindset is simple: Just feed me the football and let me do my thing, which he does! Nick runs hard, but when he bursts through that lane, he’s so quick and before you know it, he’s in the second tier of the defense. If you ask any of his counterparts around the league, they’ll be the first to tell you about how strong he is and I’ve watched him drag defenders attempting to tackle him as he runs for more yards. Nick is one of those backs that you have to complete wrap around to tackle because throwing yourself at him is asking for disaster. I don’t think people realize how quick he is because he comes off as that power back. So many of his carries include broken tackles. Talk about a guy taking the entire village with him. I’ve seen defenses stack the box with eight guys yet he still finds day light in between these tackles and lanes. Nick is that human pinball that bounces off tacklers and he never goes down on the first attempted tackle. Hitting him only makes him stronger.
I truly feel for him and it doesn’t matter who a man plays for, this is something you never want to see happen to anyone. This is a huge loss for the Cleveland Browns as he accounts for more than half their offense. Even when Deshaun Watson became a Brown, I still stated that the offense travels through number 24. I’m wishing him the absolute best in his recovery and I hope to see him back on the field next year.
