NFL Draft Profile: Bradley Chubb

This year’s NFL draft is shaping up to be the biggest in NC State football history, with as many as eight players expected to be drafted. Headlining that group is a player who broke program records in his four-year career and may go down as the best defensive player to ever represent the Wolfpack: defensive end Bradley Chubb.

After a year in which he recorded 10 sacks and 25 tackles for loss, Chubb is the all-time NC State leader in both with 25 and 54.5, respectively. He won the Bronko Nagurski Award as the nation’s top defensive player. Chubb is the kind of defensive playmaker capable of leading an NFL defense for years to come, a force both as a pass rusher and stopping the run.

Chubb’s dominance was on full display throughout his senior season, but a few games in particular stand out. In the team’s ACC-opening road win at Florida State, Chubb finished with seven total tackles and two sacks, along with making a key play to force a fumble at the end of a long run by Seminoles quarterback James Blackman. Beyond his raw numbers in that game, it was clear the kind of disruptive force he could be, as he practically lived in the back field, constantly disrupting Blackman’s rhythm and hitting him as he threw.

Also among Chubb’s big games were a six-tackle, one-sack performance in a win at Carter-Finley Stadium over Louisville and reigning Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Lamar Jackson (also a projected first-round pick), and a win at Boston College in which he broke the school sack record with 2.5 in the game.

That’s exactly the kind of production NFL teams seek from their edge rushers, and being able to rush the quarterback is one of the most important traits an NFL defense can have.

So, what does all that mean for Chubb? A massive payday as a virtual lock to be picked in the top 10, if not top five, or even top two. While Chubb is on the cusp of realizing his NFL dream, the most important thing in his mind is sticking to what got him there.

“It’s all just really surreal at this moment,” Chubb said at NC State’s pro day. “It’s my life dream to be in this position and I’m here. So I’m just living it to the best of my ability, staying strong in my faith, staying strong with my family. Just making sure that I’ve always got my core values intact and never looking back on it.”

Lance Zierlein of NFL.com projects Chubb as a first rounder. Among his listed strengths are his size, strength, pass-rushing, tackling and playmaking ability, while his weaknesses are, for the most part, nitpicking one of the most complete players in the draft.

Chubb might be the best overall prospect, and has a chance to be the first non-quarterback off the board, with Penn State running back Saquon Barkley and Notre Dame offensive guard Quenton Nelson as his main competition in that regard.

So where will Chubb end up? There are a few options, and he’s almost a guarantee to be taken in the top six. The Cleveland Browns will almost certainly take a quarterback with the number one pick. At number two, the New York Giants could be in the market for an edge rusher after trading away sack artist Jason Pierre Paul, but also have a need at quarterback and for a stud running back like Barkley.

After trading up from number six earlier in the offseason, the New York Jets will probably take a quarterback at three and are not a likely home for Chubb. Which brings us back to the Browns, who pick again at four. Should the Giants pass on Chubb for a quarterback or Barkley, Cleveland could take Chubb to help last year’s number one pick Myles Garrett lead their defense.

If the Browns end up taking someone else (which likely only happens if the Giants pass on Barkley), the next team up is the Denver Broncos at five. They could add to a strength by taking Chubb, but a quarterback, Barkley or Nelson would all fill bigger needs. Should Chubb fall out of the top five, it’s almost inconceivable that he would drop past the Indianapolis Colts, who finished 31st in the NFL with 25 sacks in 2017 and are in desperate need of a leader and playmaker for their defense, at number six.

However, in the unlikely event that all of the Giants, Browns, Broncos and Colts all pass on Chubb, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, at seven, finished dead last with 22 sacks, and Chubb’s fall would be almost a guarantee to end there.

Wherever he ends up, Chubb has all of the talent and ability to anchor an NFL defense for the next decade or more. Even alongside names like 2006 first overall pick Mario Williams, Chubb could very well be remembered as the best defensive player to come out of NC State when it’s all said and done.