Cleveland Browns: How did Nick Chubb look in his first start?

After trading Carlos Hyde on Friday, the Cleveland Browns turned to 2nd round rookie Nick Chubb to be the workhorse in the backfield. How did he fare?

The Cleveland Browns sent shock waves through their own locker room on Friday afternoon when they traded Carlos Hyde to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Some players even took to Twitter to voice their displeasure.

The trade was a fairly transparent move to get rookie running back Nick Chubb more playing time. In limited game action, Chubb has shown an explosive play-making ability that warranted more carries. With Hyde out of the picture, the Browns were going to see what the 2nd round pick could do.

Even though he wasn’t listed as the starter before the game when the Browns took the field it was Chubb that lined up in the backfield. On the third play from scrimmage, Chubb rushed for 8 yards.

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Although it was apparent he was running hard, Chubb only gained 2 yards on his next 6 carries. He finished the first half averaging a very Hyde-esque 3 yards-per-carry. It was tough sledding in the first half for the entire offense.

The 3rd quarter wasn’t much different than the first half, with the exception of a handful of positive runs.  But the Browns stuck to the running game, and in the 4th quarter, the offense came to life.

Chubb’s aggressive downhill running style was taking a toll on an injured Buccaneers defense. He started to break off chunk runs and gave the offense some much-needed momentum.

The young back averaged 5.6 yards-per-carry in the 2nd half and scored a touchdown on a first and goal from the one-yard line.

The Browns didn’t ask Chubb to do too much in the way of pass protection on Sunday, which was an area of concern.

The Browns also did a good job of utilizing Duke Johnson to compliment Chubb. Many expected Johnson to get a bigger share of carries, but he was primarily used in the passing game where he excels.

All in all, it was a good showing for Chubb. He finished the game with 80 yards on 18 carries. Chubb’s 4.4-yard-per-carry was over a full yard higher than what Hyde was averaging.

If Chubb can develop as this offense grows, expect him to be the workhorse back that Hyde was supposed to be. The young rookie has things to work on to be a complete back in this league, but what he has shown thus far is very promising.