Recapping the Denver Broncos 2018 NFL Draft class
Bradley Chubb, DE/OLB, North Carolina State
Evaluating players prior to the 2018 NFL Draft, there was no player I was more excited about defensively than Bradley Chubb.
There was so much talk about the Broncos and the quarterback position, I never really dove into the idea of Chubb coming to Denver very deep.
Not only did it seem more likely that the Broncos would draft a quarterback in the first round, but it also seemed highly likely that the Broncos would not be able to get Chubb due to someone else picking him in the top four.
That obviously turned out to not be the case, and Chubb fell into their laps at pick number five overall.
That could turn out to be the exact twist of fate the Broncos needed to turn things around and get back to their 2015 form.
We talked at length in this post-day one podcast about the potential impact of this rookie class, and Chubb in specific.
Many Broncos fans wanted a quarterback, but the alternative of getting the number one defensive player in the draft versus maybe the number three or four quarterback was a no-brainer.
Denver obviously feels like Chubb can make a significant impact off the edge, given they have two guys in Shane Ray or Shaq Barrett who could start for pretty much any other team.
When you watch Chubb play, one thing that jumps out is his strength. He’s got such strong hands and when you combine that with nearly 34-inch long arms, he’s tough to fend off for very long.
One thing I was thinking about when watching that tape against Notre Dame was how much more effective Chubb is going to be able to be when he has guys like Barrett and Ray and maybe Jeff Holland or Deiontrez Mount to share snaps with.
The Broncos have such a deep group of edge players, Chubb won’t be gassed in the fourth quarter.
Even though he probably played every snap of that game against Notre Dame, you still see Chubb putting forth extra effort to make plays, and making a significant impact.
He’s not the same style of player as DeMarcus Ware, but he has the potential to wreak havoc just the same on the opposite side of the field as Von Miller.