Is Broncos' OLB Bradley Chubb on the brink of becoming an NFL superstar?
“With the fifth overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos select… Bradley Chubb, defensive end, North Carolina State University.”
Despite the Denver Broncos already possessing the likes of Von Miller and a really solid defense. Despite the need for a quarterback, and the offensive line woes and Quenton Nelson sitting there smacking John Elway in the face, the Broncos elected to go with the senior edge rusher out of the ACC to complement Miller and guarantee the team had a threatening pass rush for the foreseeable future.
Chubb was seen as an elite pass rusher coming out N.C. State, to the point it was surprising that he fell to the fifth overall selection. There is little to no doubt he will be a good player for a long time and coming off of a 12-sack rookie season, the NFL is fully aware of the game wrecker wearing No. 55 in Denver.
Despite his top-5 draft pedigree, is Bradley Chubb being slept on? With so much talk about the likes of Jadeveon Clowney, Myles Garrett, and both Bosa brothers, it seems like Chubb is almost an afterthought in comparison to the other recently highly-drafted edge rushers.
There could be a multitude of reasons for this. Chubb, while possessing great tape, didn’t ‘light up’ the NFL Combine with out-of-this-world burst and athleticism. His three-cone drill was below average, running a 7.37-second and in the 27th percentile for defensive ends.
His other tests were ‘solid’, unlike the freakish performances that guys like Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney put up. However, as has been shown time and time again, there is so much more to being a good football player than simply testing great as an athlete.
The reason could also be that Chubb plays opposite of one of the absolute pass-rushing stars in the NFL. With Von Miller soaking up so much of the attention in Denver, there perhaps may not be as much pie left over for Chubb to receive his deserved praise and hype.
The only way Chubb starts to garner national attention and become recognized as one of the elite pass-rushing talents in the league? Keep doing what he did last night versus Joe Staley and the Niners.
As incredible as it sounds, Von Miller was hardly noticeable on Monday night. Perhaps the game being preseason has something to do with it, for sure, as Von has earned the right to not go 100% out there in a preseason game.
Honestly, it might even be best if he didn’t even play in preseason. A new scheme changes things a bit, but what does Von have to prove? Even if Von was out there going 100% and playing like a maniac, Chubb still probably would have outshined him. He was that good.
Possessing one of the most powerful punches and bull rushes from the edge position last season, Chubb has grown as a player this past offseason adding to his repertoire of pass rush moves. The move he used to discard the tackle on the way to creating the strip-sack was one he had just learned from Von Miller recently.
A quick study no doubt given how devastating and efficient the move looked on tape. Having great burst or bend is only a part of rushing the passer, but setting up blockers and crafting a variety of moves at the opportune time is next level play.
Incredible for a second-year player.
Rather than a true burst/bend player like Von Miller or Myles Garrett, Chubb wins with power and technique. It really is no wonder the Broncos’ coaches have compared his game to the likes of Khalil Mack, one of Vic Fangio's former pupils in Chicago.
For as good as Mack has been, he never had the opportunity to play across from Von nor did he have the early success of Chubb. But should anyone be surprised?
Just listening to Chubb talk, it's immediately obvious he was a different breed of person. In comparison to the silly dancing and fun-loving Miller, Chubb always came across extremely mature in his interviews.
Von may be veteran to Chubb, but that doesn’t make Chubb any less mature. In the words of Pete Bailey to his son George in all-time classic ‘It’s a Wonderful Life', Chubb was simply “born older.”
True preseason games don’t really matter as far as the outcome is concerned, but watching Bradley Chubb going up against the Niners was jaw-dropping. The variety of pass rush moves, winning outside and inside, and also strong run defense all were shown in about 15 snaps on the field.
A full sample size and who knows how many impactful plays Chubb could have made. Even in the small sample size, he was the best player on the field on Monday night.
Von Miller is still the face of the franchise for the Broncos, but the Batman and Robin dynamic of last year with Miller being the superhero and Chubb being the sidekick could fade quickly this season.
Instead of being the understudy to greatness, Chubb looks fully prepared to take on the mantle and join Von Miller as a true defensive superhero in the NFL. If preseason Game 3 was any indicator, perhaps the dynamic of Batman and Superman is more apt.
The NFL, on the whole, may be sleeping on the reality of Bradley Chubb emerging as an elite pass rusher, with all the talk surrounding other recent top-of-the-draft pass rushers, but make no mistake Chubb is right there with them and he is just getting started.
Follow Nick on Twitter @NickKendellMHH.
