Cleveland Browns 2018 Draft Targets: Bradley Chubb, N.C. State

The Cleveland Browns want to keep adding more to their pass rush and could be in position to take the best in the class in N.C. State’s Bradley Chubb.

Bradley Chubb is the next premier pass rusher to come along after Myles Garrett and Joey Bosa. Chubb started his career as a linebacker for the Wolfpack before adding almost 30 pounds, filling out his frame as he worked to break N.C. State’s all time sack record.

Let’s take a look at the numbers for the pass-rusher that could be on the Cleveland Browns’ radar in the 2018 NFL Draft.

Age, Measurables

Age: 21 years old (Born Jun. 24, 1996)

Height: 6-4.375
Weight: 269 lbs
40 Yard Dash: 4.65s
Broad Jump: 10’1″
Vertical: 36″
3-Cone: 7.37s
Shuttle: 4.41s
Bench: 24 reps

Bradley Chubb has outstanding physical ability when it comes to straight line speed and explosion. His agility is good enough, but does suggest there’s a very real cap to his potential. The good news is that 7.37 and 4.41 meet the threshold for a Pro Bowl edge rusher. The bad news is that even if Chubb retests at his Pro Day, he’s not likely to hit the All-Pro thresholds of 7.11 and 4.34.

Effectively, that means that Chubb, were to be a multiple time  All-Pro, would be the first one ever to do so without having a 7.11 3-cone and 4.34 shuttle or better. He can be a multiple time Pro Bowler which is why he’s still a valuable player, but it’s something to keep in mind.

Production 

98 solo tackles (6.9 percent), 58.5 tackles for loss (22.3 percent), 25.5 sacks (25.7 percent) and 9 forced fumbles over three seasons.

Chubb has elite production. He’s done everything that can be asked of him in terms of making plays on the ball carrier.

General Traits

Chubb has a fantastic first step, whether he wants to go inside or outside. He has a powerful upper body and heavy hands, enabling him to fight through and disengage from blockers. His hips aren’t great, but he does have flexible ankles and the balance to get leverage moving forward. Chubb has plenty of experience attacking from multiple angles, including both sides, occasionally sliding inside and even from a two-point stance. Chubb has a good motor and natural charisma in how he plays the game.

Run Defense

Chubb is powerful at the point of attack when he is working forward. He can fight through, shed or disengage with blockers to make tackles. For the most part, he does a nice job of being able to take on contact while seeing the ball carrier to know where he needs to work to maintain the integrity of the defense.

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He does a nice job of flowing with the play, be it down the lines across from him or when opponents try to run outside to his side. When he’s able to run and chase, his speed is evident and he can chase down plays from behind and is great about attacking the football as a tackler, so he can knock the ball out.

There are times when Chubb gives up too much ground when he’s trying to disengage from a block. Occasionally, against double teams, he’ll move back five yards to try to get out rather than just go low, create a pile and stop progress, enabling teammates to make the play. His effort and desire to make the play is commendable, but there are times when it’s just better to hold the point and count on teammates to make the stop.

Pass Rush

Chubb is a power player. He can work his way around opposing pass protectors, but more often than not, he’s going through them. The question is if he’s going to do it with a bull rush, swim move, simply run by the opponent or go through their up field shoulder.

This is where the concerns over Chubb’s 3-cone time prove true, but aren’t a huge detriment. He’s not going to bend around and underneath guys in the way Myles Garrett can. What he’s going to do is beat them squared up. He’s fast enough with his first step and raw speed where he can attack inside and simply run by blockers and be in the backfield before the opponent is out of their stance.

He’s got a jarring punch and he can use that to set up a quick move or just keep going with his strength. His speed up the field is to set up a conversion to power and simply overwhelming the opponent. That’s his game in a nutshell. He largely wins in straight lines unless he can use his opponent to turn himself into the quarterback more sharply with his hands.

When Chubb gets home, he makes sure the quarterback knows it. He hits them hard and they tend to stay hit with the possibility of losing the football. He plays for second and third efforts, keeping it up and able to find ways to cause problems.

Especially when he uses a bullrush, he can collapse the pocket and does a nice job of helping to take away avenues of escape for quarterback, helping to create plays for his teammates. He doesn’t have a ton of pass deflections to his credit, but he will try to get his hands up in the face of the quarterback when he can.

The issue that comes up with Chubb is because he’s not super flexible, he can end up overrunning the pocket quite a bit when he wants to run up the field. For offensive tackles who can hold up to his power and keep up his speed, they’re going to run him up the field and just try to keep him there. That difficulty to turn the corner makes it so Chubb can end up out of too many plays.

The last thing that Chubb does really well is stunting. He’s so good when it comes to being able to slant inside with speed or looping around. His raw speed makes him pretty dangerous in that capacity. And if he gets through in either role, he’s terrifying because he’s coming full speed and is going to destroy whatever is in front of him.

Usage for the Browns

Chubb becomes part of a potent rotation of edge players with Myles Garrett and Emmanuel Ogbah, plus the newly signed Chris Smith. The starters really don’t matter between Garrett, Ogbah and Chubb. The goal is to have them all take part in around 70 percent of snaps in each game.

Obviously, Chubb can play on the edge, but the question is whether or not he will slide to the inside in pass rush situations. Garrett was asked to do it last year quite a bit and had a ton of success with it. However, because Garrett is so flexible and can bend around the edge, it might be smarter to allow him to stay outside and move the less flexible, more power based rusher Chubb to slide inside.

There’s a scenario where Ogbah, Garrett, Chubb and Smith are all on the field at the same time and it just becomes a question of where each will line up. One area that the Browns should exploit and have utilized under Gregg Williams is stunting with Chubb. And if for example, Garrett and Chubb are on the right side of the line, having them stunt could be just one more way for the Browns to wreak havoc on opposing blocking schemes.

Next: NFL Free Agency 2018: Grades for major signings

Draft Projection as it relates to the Browns

Bradley Chubb is one of the candidates for the fourth overall pick. It’s not impossible that if the Browns flipped picks with a team like the New York Jets at six that Chubb could be there, since both the Denver Broncos at five and Jets appear to be focused on quarterback, but the Browns may simply take Chubb, given the opportunity.