Bradley Chubb is starting to look like a wonderful selection by the Denver Broncos at No. 5 overall.
The edge rusher was struggling a bit to start his rookie campaign, but he’s been on fire as of late. Chubb played so well during the Month of October, in fact, that he has been named the Rookie of the Month:
.@astronaut is your @NFL defensive rookie of the month‼️
RT to join us in congratulating the rook. 🚀
📰 » https://t.co/DxXSCc7Iwa pic.twitter.com/pM9EtSImhU
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) November 1, 2018
Chubb went wild in October, racking up 5.5 sacks. First, he sacked Jared Goff three times when the Broncos lost to the Los Angeles Rams. Then, five days later, he enjoyed two sacks of Josh Rosen, including that superb strip-sack. And against Kansas City, he had a .5 a sack as well, on fellow rookie Patrick Mahomes.
For Chubb, the back-to-back multiple sack games are the first time a rookie’s done so in Denver since Elvis Dumervil accomplished the feat in 2009. His 5.5 sacks were third-most in the NFL during the month of October, trailing only Aaron Donald (8) and Dee Ford (6).
Besides just sacking the quarterback, Chubb totaled 16 tackles, with 13 pressures, eight quarterback hits, five tackles for a loss and one pass defended, too.
Without a doubt, the rookie is quickly coming into his own while becoming an all-around dominant defender for Denver.
On the season, Chubb’s 32 pressures are second-most in NFL history for a rookie in his first eight games:
Bradley Chubb has got off to a flying start! #BroncosCountryhttps://t.co/qUdPnnY3ba pic.twitter.com/T7R5vnA6W4
— PFF DEN Broncos (@PFF_Broncos) October 31, 2018
At the halfway point in the season, Chubb has seven total sacks, which puts him in the clear lead among rookies, Darius Leonard (4) and Marcus Davenport (4). And, those seven sacks are basically on pace to tie Javon Kearse’s rookie record with 14.5 sacks in a season. Will Chubb be able to challenge that number?
Considering a vast majority of his sacks have come in recent weeks, it’s certainly possible for No. 55 to do just that.
For now, he looks like a slam dunk of a pick by John Elway, giving the Broncos an explosive edge rusher opposite of Von Miller while also making Shane Ray expendable.