Broncos DC Admits Bradley Chubb Is 'Full Speed' After Suffering A Torn ACL Last Season
By Jeff Kerr
(CBS SPORTS) - Expectations were sky high for Bradley Chubb heading into his second season with the Denver Broncos. A member of the All-Rookie Team in 2018 and one of the NFL's Top 100 players, Chubb's sophomore season was a disaster as the edge rusher was limited to just four games with a torn ACL last year.
The Broncos are relying heavily on Chubb to contribute to their top-10 defense in 2020 and received excellent news on his recovery from that ACL injury that cost him the majority of the 2019 season.
"We've seen him running on tape, and he's full speed and ready to go," Broncos defensive coordinator Ed Donatell said in a conference call, via NFL.com. "You'll see a really good year from him."
Chubb played just four games last season before going down with the ACL injury. He recorded just one sack in those games and had 21 tackles, six quarterback hits and a forced fumble. He finished with 10 pressures in those four games.
Before Chubb went down with the injury, he was expected to have a big sophomore season in year one under Donatell's scheme. The Broncos edge rusher never got the chance to showcase his talent in a full season with Donatell -- yet Denver still finished 10th in points allowed and 12th in yards allowed without him the majority of the year.
"He fit in very well," Donatell said. "He's just good in all areas. He's such a solid, consistent person in all areas of his life. He's just got a lot of skill and ability. But this is a Bronco that's going to be a great Bronco for a long time; we just didn't get to see enough of it last year because of the injury."
In Chubb's rookie season, he recorded 60 tackles, 12 sacks, 21 quarterback hits, and two forced fumbles. He finished with 36 pressures while blitzing the quarterback 66 times.
Denver's defense has the potential to be the best in the league with Chubb and Von Miller leading the pass rush. The Broncos will rely heavily on the 23-year-old Chubb to anchor the unit as Miller, 31, failed to record double-digit sacks for the first time since 2013, when he played just nine games.
