Cleveland Browns: 20 best draft day steals of all-time
By Randy Gurzi
Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Georgia, 2018. NickChubb. RB. 10. player. 814
Cleveland Browns best NFL Draft steals of all time: 10. Nick Chubb
A member of the 2018 NFL Draft class makes the list as running back Nick Chubb can be classified as a draft steal for the Browns. Like the past few names, Chubb doesn’t make this list for being a late-round steal. Instead, he was arguably the best rookie running back, despite not being the first chosen at the position. In fact, he wasn’t even the first running back taken out of Georgia.
The first running back to get selected was Saquon Barkley who ended up winning the Rookie of the Year award. After that, it was San Diego State’s Rashad Penny, who landed with the Seattle Seahawks at No. 27 overall. Penny averaged a very respectable 4.9 yards per attempt, but had just 85 carries and 419 yards. After Penny, it was Chubb’s college teammate, Sony Michel, taken at No. 31 by the New England Patriots.
Michel had the most rushing attempts among the three rookies, as New England gave him 209 carries. He finished with 831 yards and six touchdowns while averaging 4.5 yards per attempt — with a long of 34 for the season. Then, there was Chubb.
The Brown rookie initially crossed the 1,000-yard plateau in Week 17 before a couple of rushes for a loss of yardage left him with 996 yards on the ground. He accomplished this on just 192 carries, which gave him an average of 5.2 yards per rush. Chubb also set the franchise record for the longest run in history when he ripped off a 92-yard touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons.
Since then, he has hit 1,000-yards in every season even though he missed four games in 2020. In three years, Chubb has amassed 3,557 yards and 28 touchdowns. He works perfectly alongside Kareem Hunt showing that even though he’s a superstar, he’s an even better teammate.