John Dorsey’s 5 best moves as Cleveland Browns general manager

1. Drafting Nick Chubb

Nick Chubb is the latest star running back in perhaps the greatest tradition in the NFL. The Browns featured Marion Motley, Jim Brown, Bobby Mitchell, Ernie Green, Leroy Kelly, Greg Pruitt, Mike Pruitt, Earnest Byner, Kevin Mack, Eric Metcalf, Jamaal Lewis and now Nick Chubb.  Four of those guys made the Hall of Fame, and the others probably should be in the Hall.

Chubb is a no-nonsense, between-the-tackles power back who also can turn on the afterburners and get outside. For his brief career, he is averaging 5.3 yards per carry. Other Browns to average over five yards per carry are Motley, Brown and Mitchell.  Hence young Chubb is in incredibly elite company. He’s insanely talented.

At Georgia, he had to split time with fellow Bulldog Sony Michel, another fine player who wound up with the New England Patriots. Chubb did not get as many receiving opportunities as Michel, and also had knee surgery his sophomore year. Perhaps for those reasons, he fell to the second round.

Many people felt that Saquon Barkley should have been the first overall pick. He’s considered a “generational talent” by many commentators, rightly so. But if you look at the production, Chubb is pretty even with Barkley.

Chubb didn’t get as many snaps as Barkley in their rookie year, partly due to the fact that former Browns offensive coordinator Todd Haley and head coach Hue Jackson seemed to have a man-crush on Carlos Hyde, and determined that rookie Chubb should be limited to exactly three touches per game. That brilliant idea contributed to both coaches losing their job.

Barkley has a huge edge in receiving yards, but Chubb’s catch percentage is almost identical. Throw him the ball and he will catch it. On a per-snap basis, the numbers show that Chubb generates significantly more yardage, 2.75 to 2.31. That’s enough to make a statistician bug-eyed.

This is not in any way an attempt to knock Saquon Barkley, who is a great talent and a worthy first round pick. However, Nick Chubb is also playing at a level expected for a top-ten draft pick.

For that reason, this may be the largest success in Dorsey’s Cleveland Browns tenure so far.