30 best NFL running backs of the 21st century
By Nick Villano
29. Nick Chubb, 2018-Present
Cleveland Browns
This one is obviously projecting a bit, but Nick Chubb may very well be much higher on a future version of this list. The Cleveland Browns power back has been unstoppable for most of his career. He may use his size and strength to get yards, but his speed and agility help him avoid hits like nobody else in the game today. In his very first season, it became clear that Chubb was special. He had just under 1,000 yards rushing in 2018, but he added 149 yards receiving and totaled 10 touchdowns.
He made a serious jump in his sophomore season with Cleveland, rushing for just under 1,500 yards and adding a running back-leading 36 receptions for 278 yards. It was clear the Browns had themselves a star at the running back position.
What’s most impressive is Chubb’s consistency. He’s one of only six players to rush for at least 950 yards and eight rushing touchdowns through their first four seasons. The others are all Hall of Famers (or future Hall of Famers in Adrian Peterson’s case). Of course, that streak ended this year when he blew out his knee in Week 2 of the regular season. He left the Steelers game, never to return. Now, with no guaranteed money left on his contract, his future is slightly up in the air.
Still, Chubb is young and talented enough to have multiple great seasons in this league once he returns. Because of the complications with his injury (he had to wait until November to get surgery to repair his ACL), he might miss some time, but we expect him to get back to greatness right away. By the time he hangs up his cleats for good, we expect this name to be in the top 15. He’s that good.