The Cleveland Browns shocked many this offseason when they selected Nick Chubb with the third pick in the second round of the NFL Draft. They had just signed Carlos Hyde to a $15 million contract, so the early draft pick seemed like a redundant investment at the time.
However, this past week the Browns made Twitter-truthers' dreams come true, as they traded Hyde to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a fifth-round pick in the 2019 Draft. The move finally made Chubb the de facto starter. Chubb had excelled in his limited role spelling Hyde -- including his insane 3-carry, 105-yard, 2-touchdown game against the Oakland Raiders -- so people were understandably excited to see how he'd fare in the starting job.
Chubb performed well in his starting debut in an overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He posted an impressive 50% Success Rate -- the percentage of rushes that added expected value to his team's expected points total -- and finished with 80 rushing yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. His day could have been even bigger if he had been able to punch in his carry from the Tampa 2-yard line, or if the Browns had given him a second chance instead of asking Baker Mayfield to try to take it in himself (unsuccessfully).
The arrow is pointed definitively up for the second-round rookie pick. He handled 18 of 19 running back carries in the game and even drew 2 targets, although he failed to reel either one in. That's an elite opportunity share. If the team can get its act together and stop drawing penalties -- I counted seven offensive penalties this week -- Chubb could become the waiver wire hero of the year.