BEREA, Ohio — Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb earned the nickname “Old School” from his fellow ball carriers during his rookie training camp in 2018, and it is more than just a moniker for the second-year standout.
Chubb does not talk much, instead choosing to let his play speak for him, and that means showing up to work every day and despite being at the top of the depth chart, running out every play as if he still were trying to earn a roster spot.
“I just know Nick is everything we want in a football player from the standpoint of how he approaches the game, how he approaches practice, how he approaches every time he has the ball in his hands, every time he is pass protecting and every time he is running routes,” Browns coach Freddie Kitchens said following Tuesday’s practice.
“Nick works his tail off every time he crosses the white line.”
Chubb finished the 2018 season, one in which he saw limited time in the first seven games, with 996 yards and eight touchdowns on 192 carries. Chubb had 11 20-yard runs, four 40-yard bursts and 47 first-down conversions.
A second-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of the University of Georgia, Chubb rushed for 788 of his 996 yards and five of his eight touchdowns on 140 carries under Kitchens’ direction. After the changes in the coaching staff, Chubb averaged 5.63 yards per carry and became a contributing player in the passing game as well.
Chubb caught 20 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns with two 20-yard plays and four receiving first downs.
And yet, when talking to reporters during the offseason and first week-plus of training camp, Chubb was critical of his work on the field.
“It depends on how good they want to be,” Kitchens said of players’ self-study.
“I think Nick wants to be very, very good. Is it unusual? Yes, I think it is, but I think we need more people like Nick. Of course, he is going to be critical. You know what? That tells you that every rep to him matters if he is going to remember something a year ago.”
Kitchens gained an appreciation for Chubb’s professionalism during the regular-season finale against the Baltimore Ravens on December 30, 2018.
Chubb became the Browns’ first rookie running back to surpass 1,000 yards rushing, but a five-yard loss on his final carry of the season brought him back below the benchmark for ball carriers.
“Not a word was mentioned about it, not a word,” Kitchens said. “I even apologized to him, but not a word was mentioned about going up and under 1,000 after he had 1,000.
“That tells you what Nick Chubb is, what he is here for and how he approaches the game, and what the game is about for him. It is about winning. It is about winning a championship. It is about putting yourself in the best position possible to succeed individually and collectively as a team.”
