CLEVELAND -- If there was a knock against Nick Chubb when he entered the 2018 NFL Draft after a stellar career at the University of Georgia, it was that he was only a two-down player who struggled to catch the football out of the backfield.
However, if the last two weeks are any indication, Chubb indeed has proven wrong those doubters.
“We were all surprised,” running back Duke Johnson Jr. said. “I think even he was surprised he caught it. We are definitely happy he did.
“He can be a pass-catching back. I think what people do not understand is he probably does not run the best routes, but he can catch the ball. That is fundamental football, and he works at it every day after practice, so he is going to get better one way or another.”
Since Carlos Hyde’s trade to the Jacksonville Jaguars less than 48 hours ahead of a road loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last month, Chubb has become the Browns’ feature running back, rushing for 490 yards and four touchdowns on 106 carries, an average of 4.62 yards per attempt.
Additionally, Chubb has turned nine catches into 92 yards and two touchdowns on the season, and his 44 receiving yards against the Cincinnati Bengals almost equaled the total (48) he amassed in the first 10 games of his career.
“I guess I did because everybody is making a big deal about it,” Chubb said of his catching abilities. “It was a pretty good catch. I never caught the ball in the past, so people are surprised a little bit.”
Chubb put his pass-catching skills on display during the second quarter of the Browns’ 35-20 win over the Bengals in an AFC North Division game at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati last Sunday.
On third-and-three from the Cincinnati 14-yard line, Mayfield fielded the snap from center JC Tretter and looked toward the left side of the formation for an open receiver, where he found Chubb breaking free behind the coverage of a Bengals defensive back.
Chubb jumped at the four-yard line to try and corral the ball, which he ended up pinning against the back of Cincinnati safety Brandon Wilson while falling backwards to the ground in the end zone.
“It did seem a little slower,” Chubb said. “The ball was kind of landing right there. I just grabbed it and held onto it on the way down.”
A replay review upheld the call on the field of a touchdown, which was Chubb’s second receiving score of the season and second in as many weeks.
Chubb finished the game with 84 yards and one touchdown on 28 carries, along with three catches for 44 yards and one score.
And Chubb’s teammates are confident he can continue developing his skills over the final five weeks of the 2018 regular season.
“It is just about repetition, working technique and just running mentally when it comes to running routes and defenders,” Johnson Jr. said of Chubb. “As far as catching, he has doing a great job at getting catches after practice.”
Stream Live with fuboTV -Try Free Trial
