Getty Nick Chubb of the Cleveland Browns.
Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb had Baltimore Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith shaking in his cleats after a viral workout post on social media.
Chubb made headlines for the post that showed him squatting over 600 pounds — which seems to be a standard occurrence nowadays for the Browns star. Smith could be found in the comments section of the post with a request for Chubb.
“Take it easy on me this year bro,” Smith wrote with a crying laughing emoji.
Smith is one of the top linebackers in the league and was a first-team All-Pro last season. It was clearly a joke from Smith, who will be ready to see Chubb and the Browns in Cleveland for their first of two divisional clashes in Week 4.
But the comment from Smith created some fun replies, including from Indianapolis Colts receiver Isaiah Mckenzie.
“He gone run your little a** over,” McKenzie wrote. “Ima do you worse than what chubb is gonna do to you.”
Smith reminded McKenzie that they’ll see each other for an early-season matchup.
“I’ll see you on a crosser week 3, and I’ll remember that,” Smith fired back.
It should be noted, Chubb, Smith and McKenzie went to Georgia and were teammates. Chubb and Smith both went in the 2018 draft, while McKenzie was taken the year prior.
Nick Chubb Poised for Another Big Season With Browns
Chubb rushed for 1,525 yards and 12 touchdowns last season. It was his fourth consecutive season rushing for over 1,000 yards and his career 5.2 per carry average is among the league’s elite.
Chubb has set a high bar for himself with his play but Browns running backs coach Stump Mitchell thinks the four-time Pro Bowler still has some room to grow.
“I don’t mind nit-picking Nick at all,” Mitchell said during an appearance on The Dawgs Podcast. “There’s not a whole lot to do.”
Mitchell believes this may be the year his star back leads the league in rushing.
“Even though those guys may have still a hundred more carries than he will, it doesn’t matter,” Mitchell said. “If we can improve upon [pressing the run track], he can still lead the league in rushing because he’s averaging over 5.2 yards a carry…I think he can average maybe 6.0 yards per carry.”
Nick Chubb’s Role Expected to Evolve Next Season
The Browns running back room looks different than it did a year ago. Chubb is the steady piece at the top of the depth chart but he no longer has his running back buddy Kareem Hunt behind him. Hunt took on the majority of passing down work previously but the Browns decided to not bring him back this offseason and he remains a free agent.
That sets up second-year back Jerome Ford to take on a large role, although he did not do much during his rookie season. Ford had just eight carries for 12 yards last season.
Ford might take on some of the passing work but Chubb will also see an increased workload with the part of his game. Chubb has 119 catches for 990 yards in his career. He has found the end zone four times as a receiver but caught just 27 passes last year.