Nick Chubb on 2019 Browns: ‘We thought we were a lot better than we were’

Nick Chubb was always known for his quiet, no-nonsense demeanor while at Georgia, but he wasn’t afraid to speak out about the disappointing 2019 season the Cleveland Browns had.

Former UGA football great Nick Chubb doesn’t speak out often, so when he does you know he’s got something pretty important to say and that he’s probably given it a lot of thought.

That’s what happened when Chubb was a guest recently on The Jim Rome Show, and the host asked Chubb exactly how he felt looking back on the Browns somewhat forgettable 2019 season after coming into the year with so much hype.

"“I said it before, I think we thought we were a lot better than we were. We thought it was going to just happen for us, we didn’t actually put the work in. We got this guy, and this guy, you know we’re straight, so we don’t need to actually work, it’s going to happen for us.”"

And happen for the Browns it didn’t. Coming into 2019 the Browns were a darling of the NFL oddsmakers who saw quarterback Baker Mayfield suddenly surrounded with a plethora of talent at both running back and wide receiver, so how could they miss?

Chubb summed it up in a few words.

"“Hard work beats talent. Talent doesn’t work. I think that’s exactly what it was with us.”"

Despite a letdown season for the Browns, Chubb made a name for himself as one of the premier rushers in the NFL, nearly taking the league rushing title, being edged out by Titans running back Derrick Henry in the final week of the season.

Nick Chubb has a secure place with the Browns right now, and although his words may burn the ears of a few teammates (looking at you, Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham Jr.) no one can ever question his work ethic or his dedication to being the best.

It seems the Browns could probably use less of the prima donna genre of player and more of the workhorse, team-first attitude displayed by Nick Chubb and some others on the Cleveland squad.

Nick Chubb on The Jim Rome Show

It will be interesting to see how Chubb’s teammates react to this interview given how little he usually says to the press. Perhaps all the social distancing has given him more time to reflect on everything that went wrong for the Browns.

Hopefully, some of his colleagues had that same opportunity and took advantage of it.