2022 will be the most consequential season of Bradley Chubb’s NFL career.
After a disappointing and injury-plagued 2021 season, Chubb seems unlikely to receive a contract extension this offseason, which would make 2022 a contract year. A strong season could see him earn an extremely lucrative extension, but if more injury concerns crop up, his market value will drop considerably.
Fortunately for Chubb, George Paton feels confident we’ll see a performance much closer to the high-end play we saw from Chubb in 2020 and 2018.
“I’m very confident [in Chubb],” Paton said on Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine. “He had two minor — they weren’t minor to him — but he had two minor surgeries on the foot. That held him back this year. He was never healthy. Going into the offseason, this is the first time Bradley [Chubb] is going to be healthy in, I believe, three years. When he’s healthy, we all know he can play at a Pro Bowl level. I’m really excited. I think I said this before [but] I really respect [OLB] Bradley [Chubb] fighting through the injuries and finishing strong. We play Kansas City, it doesn’t mean anything, really for anyone except our team, and you saw how [OLB] Bradley [Chubb] played that game. I’m really encouraged. I think he’s going to get back to that Pro Bowl level.”
Frankly, the Broncos need him to return to his 2018 or 2020 level. In 2021 the Broncos arguably had the worst pass rush in the entire league, as they ranked 32nd in ESPN’s pass-rush win rate by a comfortable margin. Chubb’s lack of production, was a big reason why, as his pass-rush win rate (8.8%) trailed Jonathon Cooper and Malik Reed, and ranked 99th in the NFL in pass-rush win rate among edge rushers with at least 150 pass rush reps.
Compare that to 2020, where Chubb ranked 10th in the league with a fairly elite pass-rush win rate of 18.0%.
If Chubb can remain healthy in 2022, and return to 2020 form, he’s sure to become one of the league’s higher-paid pass rushers.
