Bradley Chubb Injury: is the former first-round pick a bust?

Bradley Chubb was picked to be the next "Von Miller." After a 5-11 campaign in 2017, the Broncos had the fifth overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. They had problems across the roster. Veterans were retiring, and their replacements were not living up to expectations. At the core of the issue was finding the quarterback for the future.

Having the fifth overall pick in the NFL Draft, the Broncos passed on Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson and elected to focus on defense, as that is what won a Super Bowl just a few years prior. They ended up drafting Bradley Chubb with the fifth overall pick in the NFL Draft. At the time, the Broncos were obsessed with repeating history.

They thought that one reason for Von Miller's ascendance was his tutelage under DeMarcus Ware. Ware retired, leaving Miller in the mentor role. They selected Chubb to be Miller's apprentice, but unfortunately, the duo hasn't panned out as well as the Broncos have hoped. Many would argue that it hasn't worked at all.

Bradley Chubb: on his way out?

Granted, it all doesn't fall on Chubb's shoulders. Von Miller is partly to blame. Essentially, the goal was to create one of the best pass-rushing duos in the NFL between a young "Von Miller" and Von Miller. However, Miller missed all of 2020 with a torn ACL injury. His absence led to double-teams galore for Chubb and hurt his production.

That said, Chubb's been equally fair to blame. To date, his rookie season has been his best year. That season, he had 12 sacks and 60 tackles. After his rookie year, he missed most of 2019 with a torn ACL. While he was healthy for most of 2020, his production was almost half compared to that of his rookie season.

Chubb came into the current season while still working through an ankle injury he suffered towards the end of 2020. Chubb played on Sunday, but ended up re-aggravating the injury. His status is now questionable for this coming Sunday. Basically, outside of his rookie season, Chubb has 8.5 sacks over the last two and a bit years. This would be acceptable for a cheap pickup.

Von Miller and Bradley Chubb at Denver Broncos Training Camp

However, for a first-round, top-five draft pick, Chubb's production is not living up to his draft stock. Essentially, between injuries and falling production, Chubb's future with the team could be in doubt. As a first-round pick, Chubb will likely ask for a top-dollar deal that the Broncos won't budge on. Chubb may get frustrated and try the free-agent market.

Unless Chubb can recover from his ankle injury and put together a couple of great years, the Broncos and Chubb could be on course to part ways in 2023 when his rookie deal expires.

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