Nick Chubb won’t be hindered this season.

For the past few years, Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb has been a staple in the NFL. He’s been a beacon of consistency on the field, and it’s certainly helped a number of fantasy football owners because of it. There’s been a ton of talk this offseason regarding the Browns’ offense opening up, with Deshaun Watson getting so much time to lean into this new system fully. Luckily, Chubb doesn’t expect any changes in his usage in 2023 and beyond.

Reporters started to bring up this question to Chubb himself during camp. They mentioned how he had 12 rushing touchdowns throughout the 2022 campaign. However, he didn’t get into the end zone once since Deshaun Watson took over as the starting quarterback in Week 13. Chubb answered these thoughts by saying, “You can’t really look at the numbers. 12 is the most I’ve ever had since I’ve been here. I don’t think it had much to do with it.” He later continued by saying, “No, I’m not worried at all. I can’t control what I can’t control. When the ball is in my hand, I have full control, so I’m not worried about anything.”

We mentioned earlier that Chubb had been a staple, and the numbers back that up. He’s racked up 6,341 rushing yards and has run into the end zone 48 times throughout his five seasons in the league. Without Chubb on the ground in Cleveland, this team could still be the absolute worst in the league. He’s dramatically helped improve their scoring offense, and a reduced role wouldn’t necessarily improve what the Browns want to do with Watson under centre. 

What currently seems to be more likely is that he will be stepping into an alternate role. Undoubtedly, he’ll remain the number-one running back in Cleveland. The real question is how he’ll adapt to a Watson-led offense that will likely feature more passes than usual. These passes will lead to Chubb running a lot of routes. Whether from the backfield or out wide, Chubb must prepare for that possibility and rise to the occasion. He’s only picked up 119 receptions throughout his career so far. It’s an area that needs some work. Chubb will likely be preparing for this change throughout the offseason and ready to go by the time we hit the season opener. Other than that, don’t be expecting a Nick Chubb falloff.

However, one final thing to note is that Watson didn’t look good in 2022. The Browns’ offence fell apart when Watson entered the starting line-up following his 12-game suspension. They weren’t passing the football well. They couldn’t score. The rushing offense went flat. It was clear right from the start that he had a lot of rust. That suspension, coupled with taking over a year off due to holding out from the Houston Texans, greatly impacted his performance. We’ll see if it was just a small hangover from time off or if he’s struggling to find his footing in a new environment.