Carlos Who?
I’m not going to lie.
I was ecstatic when I heard the news about the Cleveland Browns signing Carlos Hyde to a three-year deal. I’m a big fan of bringing guys home and I knew he could give us the ground and pound game that we needed. It seemed like it could be a matchup nightmare when you interchange his power with Duke Johnson’s speed and elusiveness.
It didn’t work out quite as I hoped, but Hyde still had decent production in Cleveland. He ran for 382 yards and five touchdowns in six games. The problem was that he just wasn’t as explosive as Nick Chubb and we all witnessed it during the Oakland game when Chubb broke out for two touchdowns (63, 41 yards each).
In the first six games of the season, Nick Chubb saw seven times less carries than Hyde (16:114), but produced almost half the yards Hyde did (173). Chubb was averaging a ridiculous 10.8 yards per carry.
It has been four games since Hyde was traded to Jacksonville and Chubb has not disappointed. The rookie has churned out 406 yards and three scores while averaging 5.2 yards per carry. He has also added 48 yards and a touchdown on six receptions.
If Chubb can keep up this pace then he would easily eclipse 1,000 yards. That is something Carlos Hyde has never done in his career. He was less than 100 yards shy of that mark in both 2016 and 2017 with San Francisco.
Here are some fun facts for you:
Hyde has 16 rushes of 20+ yards in his five year career, Chubb already has six just this season. Hyde has three runs of 40+ yards and so does the rookie Chubb. And to top it off, Chubb has two 100 yard games to Hyde’s four.
Point being is that Chubb’s explosiveness keeps the opposing defense honest. Defensive backs can’t sit back and focus solely on Baker Mayfield anymore, allowing him to operate more freely. The offense has opened up and great things are to come. Carlos Hyde is now just an after thought while Nick Chubb is the future and the future is now.
Image: Browns
