Houston Texans: Four candidates for DROY competing with Justin Reid
Player #2: Bradley Chubb
As expected for the Denver Broncos, edge rusher Bradley Chubb has made an incredible impact on their already-stout defense. He has becoming a fierce pass-rusher as well as run-stopper when the team has needed him the most.
However, consistency has to be key with Chubb and he’s certainly in the conversation for DROY as well.
Chubb, a first-round pick (selected 5th overall) out of North Carolina State, has been an excellent complement to Von Miller, who’s the captain of that defense and they’ve worked together to ensure that any quarterback that tries to cross them will pay dearly.
He’s certainly a big reason as to why the Houston Texans were able to get just 98 yards on the ground a few weeks ago against the Broncos and Lamar Miller not even being close to effective, having just 12 carries for 21 yards. Miller had rushed for two straight games over the century mark up until that meeting.
Chubb and Miller weren’t letting anything get by them and that’s going to be a deadly combo for quite some time.
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Chubb leads all rookies in sacks (10.0), quarterback pressures (40) and QB hurries (27). He lags in run stops (24), which is good enough for 6th place and has just two forced fumbles on the season.
His PFF grades are: 67.0 overall, 75.7 run defense, 52.0 tackling, 67.4 pass rush and 39.8 in coverage.
Chubb is having himself a terrific season but if I were a voter, I’d weigh heavily on how good of a complement he is to that defense rather than how he could impact it himself. Unlike Justin Reid’s situation, that unit was already talented before he got there and just makes the Broncos so much better with his presence.
He should be in the conversation but I don’t think he’s going to win it because his overall resume has a few flaws. It’s okay because I do see him winning the Defensive Player of the Year Award sometime in his career.
Chubb also has amassed 44 tackles, 15 QB hits, 11 tackles-for-loss, one fumble recovery and one pass defensed through all 12 games this season.
Who’s next up on my list? Let’s dig some more.