Denver Broncos: Dream that team had with Von Miller and Bradley Chubb will likely never materialize
When the Denver Broncos selected Bradley Chubb with the fifth overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, big things were expected.
Many analysts felt that the Broncos got the best defensive player in that draft class and the idea of pairing him with pass-rushing monster Von Miller was tantalizing. Remember how excited Miller was when the pick was made?
Many thought that the Broncos were going to have the best pass-rushing duo in the league? How were opposing offenses going to deal with this? So far, pretty easily.
That is because for one reason or another, either Chubb or Miller has been absent from many of the team’s games since Chubb was drafted.
Chubb missed most of the 2019 season with a partially torn ACL and Miller missed all of the 2020 season due to an injury. The 2021 season was the year the team was supposed to get them back together and now, after leaving the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars after re-aggravating his injured ankle, Chubb will be undergoing surgery.
It remains to be seen how long Chubb will be out, but there is a good chance it will be a big chunk of the rest of this season.
Regardless, it seems the ship is starting to sail on those Chubb and Miller visions. The two guys can’t even get on the field at the same time, let alone get after the opposing quarterback together.
Meanwhile, Malik Reed has filled in quite well for both players and as an undrafted free agent, the team has gotten more value out of him than it has out of Chubb, similar to when the team had undrafted free agent Shaquil Barrett on the roster.
All of this brings the serious question of whether or not Chubb is worth keeping around.
When the Broncos won Super Bowl 50, Miller was able to be a force in that defense because DeMarcus Ware was with him and could still make big plays, even in his later years. So the idea of Miller transitioning into that role while the younger Chubb became the guy to eventually take the mantle made a lot of sense.
Sorry fans, the odds of that happening are getting more slim all the time. Miller is 32 years old and Chubb is looking at missing a good portion of this season. How many more chances are they going to have together.
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It just seems, sad as it is to say, that this has all the makings of becoming one of those “what could have been” stories.