The start of the regular season is also the start of prediction season. Everyone is making their predictions for division winners, Super Bowl winners, and individual player awards. On the MHR Radio Podcast (Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify), Ian St. Clair and I both joined the fray. We made several predictions leading up to the start of the season.
With all the predictions, there was one that I was particularly happy to make. In the discussion about Defensive Player of the Year, one name stood out to me. Bradley Chubb. We are lucky as fans right now. The Denver Broncos have two of the best pass rushers in the NFL in Chubb and Von Miller (Ian’s pick). The Orange Rush (hoodie and T-shirt) is going to be a problem.
It may seem obvious for a couple of lifelong Bronco fans to pick one of those two players to win the award, and that’s not far off. However, we have seen how great Miller is, and how much potential Chubb has. Playing on the same team, and in a system that will put incredible amounts of pressure on the QB, the door is wide open for both players to make a run at DPOY.
Why Chubb? Why not Von? The answer is simple, Von will eat, but he will also find himself facing double-teams. With Miller grappling with double-teams, Chubb will be clear to work one-on-one. Von Miller is terrifying for opposing offenses to face. What will happen is teams will shift toward stopping him, and fall into the trap of Chubb wreaking havoc in the backfield.
Another aspect of Chubb’s potential to bring home the DPOY award is the potential of the Broncos defensive line to be stout up the middle. Shelby Harris has shown his ability to impact a football game. He and Chubb blew up Jimmy Garoppolo’s game against the Broncos in the preseason. Harris isn’t the only guy who will open doors for Chubb.
Derek Wolfe, Adam Gotsis, Dre’Mont Jones, Mike Purcell, and DeMarcus Walker will all be problems for opposing offensive linemen. Push up the middle means scrambling QBs that will run right into the arms of either Chubb or Miller.
The Orange Rush (hoodie and T-shirt) is going to eat in 2019. There is no doubt that both Chubb and Miller will rack up the pressures and sacks. They have the chance to break the record for most sacks by teammates in a single season. In the end, Bradley Chubb will be the Defensive player of the year.