About Bradley Chubb
The Denver Broncos staved off any desire to trade out of the No. 5 overall selection Thursday in the NFL draft and chose a player they believe will be a franchise cornerstone: Bradley Chubb. The draft’s top defensive end/outside linebacker has the opportunity to create havoc on defense by joining six-time Pro Bowler Von Miller in Denver.
Size: 6-foot-4, 269 pounds
College: North Carolina State
Age: 21
Five things to know
• Chubb grew up in Marietta, Ga., and comes from a football family. His father, Aaron, was a standout linebacker at Georgia (1985-88) and his brother, Brandon, was a linebacker at Wake Forest (2012-15). His cousin, Nick, was a star running back at Georgia (2014-17).
• Chubb earned first-team All-American honors as a senior and won the 2017 Hendricks (best defensive end) and Bronko Nagurski (best defender) Awards. He finished second in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 26 tackles for loss in addition to 10 sacks.
• Chubb earned high praise from Broncos’ linebacker Von Miller through pre-draft evaluations. Miller said Chubb “looks like Khalil Mack and Von Miller put together.” The love is mutual, too, with : “Von Miller is one of the guys I look up to, one of the guys I try to model my game after, so if I got a chance to actually play with him, it’d be crazy.”
• Chubb had the opportunity to declare for the NFL draft as a junior and was projected as a first or second round pick after 22 tackles for loss and 10 1/2 sacks in 2016. But Chubb returned to N.C. State and undoubtedly improved his draft stock after a stellar senior season.
• Chubb is well known for stealing his opponent’s towels as a form of mental competition on the football field. His most notable victim last season was Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant — . “Itap just something I do to get in people’s heads,” . “I do it in light-heartedness, then it came to the point where I saw it really bothered (players). So if I see something bothers you, I’m just going to keep doing it.”
Scouting report
Strengths: Looks the part. … Long-limbed with broad chest, big shoulders and thick legs. … Good combination of size and athleticism. … Sets and holds the edge with a wide base. … Major disruptor who can get into gaps and drive up the field to take it off schedule.
±Ա:Needs to time up hand-swipes and initial hand usage earlier. … Athletic tackles set into him before he got his rush momentum going. … Plays top-heavy at times. … Needs to play under control.
*Source: NFL.com.
