Nick Chubb is NFL’s most underrated player

Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb is arguably the best current running back in the National Football League.

In his five seasons with the Browns, Chubb has posted three of the top 11 rushing seasons in franchise history, two of the top 10 seasons in rushing touchdowns, and is currently fourth in rushing yards on the franchise’s all-time list and third in rushing touchdowns.

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While other running backs may gain more national attention - Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants, Josh Jacobs of the Las Vegas Raiders and Dalvin Cook, currently a free agent, come to mind - and Derrick Henry of the Tennessee Titans is often cited as the game’s best, it is hard to argue against Chubb’s standing when you compare him with Henry, as Pro Football Focus points out:

However, Nick Chubb is also arguably the most underrated running back in the NFL.

Maybe it is because Chubb has yet to win a rushing title, although he did finish second in both 2019 and 2021, or because he has only appeared in two career playoff games, or perhaps because he simply goes about his business without any personal fanfare, but Chubb is not always included on a national level when the discussion comes up of the game’s best player at his position.

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That is why it is not surprising, although still disappointing, that Chubb was not included on The 33rd Team’s list of current players who will one day find themselves enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Henry makes the list, of course, under the category of “Likely HOFers,” is the only running back represented, and is credited for being “an anomaly in a passing era when quarterbacks ruled.” But as deserving as Henry is, if he is under consideration then Chubb should be right there with him and he is playing in the same quarterback-driven era as Henry and performing at a high level.

Chubb currently sits 5,971 yards behind Jim Brown, unquestionably the greatest running back in league history, for the top spot as the franchise’s all-time rushing leader. At his current pace of 84.5 yards per game, Chubb needs 70 games, or just a tick more than four full seasons, to pass Brown.

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That might be a stretch in a pass-first league, but Chubb won’t turn 28 until the end of the upcoming season, and given his commitment to fitness he could be the one rare running back who does not see a decline in his production at this stage of his career.

The national media may not always appreciate what Chubb has accomplished in his career so far, and on some level, it probably does not matter, but while some would argue Chubb’s status as the game’s best current running back, it is fairly easy to make a case that he remains the league’s most underrated player at his position.