3 Players that benefit from Cleveland Browns recent departures
By Randy Gurzi
2. Nick Chubb, Running Back
Nick Chubb was nearly the NFL rushing leader in 2019. In 2018, he nearly hit the 1,000-yard mark as a rookie. The second pick for the Browns in 2018, Chubb proved to be well worth the investment. And he was obviously a favorite of John Dorsey’s.
To prove this, Dorsey forced the coaching staff into using Chubb more during his rookie campaign. For the first six weeks of the season, Hue Jackson and Todd Haley refused to give Chubb more than three carries in a game, instead deferring to veteran Carlos Hyde. Dorsey then sent Hyde to Jacksonville for a late-round pick, but the real goal was to get Chubb on the field.
More from Browns News
- How the Browns could maximize Nick Chubb in 2023
- Can Deshaun Watson get to Patrick Mahomes level for Cleveland Browns?
- 3 Cleveland Browns who should see an expanded role in 2023 and 1 who should not
- Is Marcus Davenport on the Browns radar in 2023?
- 5 Free agents from Super Bowl LVII Cleveland Browns should target
So Chubb clearly won’t benefit from Dorsey leaving, but he will from Kitchens walking out the door. While it’s true Chubb was sensational this season, he could have been even better.
The sophomore runner finished with 1,494 yards and eight touchdowns. But he was also misused often by Freddie Kitchens. There were far too many instances where the Browns went to the half trailing due to a stagnant offense. The frustrating part was the fact that Chubb was the one player moving the chains, but Kitchens would constantly force the pass. Several three and outs would come by way of three incomplete passes in a row while Chubb didn’t touch the ball.
Then with the rushing title in his grasps, Kitchens essentially took it away from Chubb by giving him just 14 runs against the Bengals. That allowed Derrick Henry to surpass him with 1,540 yards on the year.
Another issue under Freddie was the lack of red-zone touches for Chubb. For example, his eight touchdowns were half of what Henry had as he crossed the goal line 16 times.
A new coach will be good for Chubb as they will be more likely to continue to feed him the ball when he’s on a roll. And they hopefully will remember he’s on the team when they get to the goal line.