Inner Vision

A simple way to make use of a player’s ability to read running lanes is through stretch runs or outside toss plays. This causes defenders to pursue outside in order to prevent being beaten around the edge and often leads to breakdowns in gap discipline, which can then be exploited by running backs who are able to read the defense correctly. Chubb shows the ability to read this overpursuit and cut back inside for a big gain:

He also shows the ability to see this overpursuit on stretch plays, where he cuts back nicely to gain significant yardage:

And then on this base play, he shows an excellent combination of skills: the patience to allow the blocking the develop, the awareness to use the outside step to set up the kick-out block on the linebacker and the vision to read the inside cutback lane.

That awareness and patience is also visible on this inside run, where he allows the running lane to emerge before cutting uphill.

And when teams are overeager to clog the inside running lanes, Chubb shows the awareness to bounce runs outside for long gains:

It is hard to get a picture for a player’s vision from only a handful of plays, but over the course of several games it becomes clear that Chubb is aware not only of where his blockers are, but of how the play is designed to create a running lane. He shows the patience to allow blocks to develop on zone runs and on power runs he shows the quick decision-making and short-area burst to get downhill and hit his seams with power and speed; combined with his ability to break through secondary tackles, this ability to read defenses and running lanes allows Chubb to pick up consistent yardage. What separates him from other power runners, however, is his ability to generate longer plays with his quickness and speed.

A Touch of Pace

One of the things that Chubb seemed to lose post-injury was his top-end speed, and while his 4.52 speed is hardly the fastest time by a running back, he still shows deceptive quickness on tape, something that separates him from many other running backs who demonstrate his power. While he appears to lack the big play potential of some of the other running backs in the class, he churns out chunk plays with surprising regularity:

When all this comes together, Chubb is arguably the most complete back in the 2018 draft, with the vision to spot good running lanes, the power to break tackles and the speed and quickness to turn those broken tackles into long touchdowns: