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Will Nick Chubb get a majority of the carries in the Browns offense in return to action? Blaine Grisak breaks down Chubb’s return to action for fantasy football managers in Week 7.
The Cleveland Browns could be getting the heart of their offense back in Week 7 as running back Nick Chubb makes his long-awaited return to the field. With the Browns entering the week at 1-5 with a division matchup at home against the Cincinnati Bengals, they’ll be looking to get back on track. The Browns haven’t lost at home to the Benglas since 2017. Without Chubb this season, the Browns offense led by Deshaun Watson has struggled to move the ball. A loss at home on Sunday would likely mean the end of their season.
Nick Chubb injury status
According to Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, Nick Chubb is expected to play on Sunday. Chubb is listed as questionable, but was able to practice in a full capacity all week. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Stafanski told reporters that despite the injury tag, Chubb is expected to play for the first time since he suffered a major knee injury last season.
What Nick Chubb injury means for fantasy football
Despite the running back position not valued as highly as it used to, Nick Chubb has shown how important a running back can be to an offense. Chubb is set to return to the Browns lineup for the first time since he suffered what some thought might be a career-ending knee injury in Week 2 of last season against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Browns will happily welcome Chubb back to the lineup after a 1-5 start to 2024. Chubb will hope to provide a spark to the Browns offense that has been stagnant for most of the season.
While Chubb is set to return to the lineup, the big question will be how much of a workload and how much playing time he will receive. Chubb will be one of the Browns’ only weapons on offense as they traded away their number one wide receiver in Amari Cooper earlier this week and leading rusher Jerome Ford is set to miss the game with a hamstring injury.
Typically with a player coming off of this time of injury there would be a lot of concern about how effective they would be in their return. However, Chub has gone through this before. The Browns running back also suffered a torn MCL, PCL, LCL and a dislocated knee in 2015 while at Georgia. Chubb returned the folllowing season and rushed for 1,130 yards and eight touchdowns.
Still an Adrian Peterson-esque return seems unlikely. It’s hard to know how much playing time Chubb will get in Week 7 and how effective he’ll be in his return. Stefankski didn’t say what Chubb’s workload would be like on Sunday. Said Stefanski, “I don’t have a specific number right this minute but want to see Nick practice this week and then huddle up with Nick and with the coaches.”
Even with Chubb coming off of a major knee injury, he remains a potential fantasy starter against the Bengals. The Bengals are allowing the fifth-highest EPA per rush and rush yards over expected per attempt. They are also allowing the 10th most yards after contact. As mentioned earlier, Chubb is also one of only a few offensive weapons for the Browns.
Jerry Jeudy, Cedric Tillman, and Elijah Moore are the top three receivers in the Browns offense with David Njoku in the mix. With Jerome Ford out, Pierre Strong could be in the mix, but is more of a change of pace player and receving option. Strong had two receptions for 35 yards last week against the Philadelphia Eagles to go with eight carries for 43 yards.
It would make sense for the Browns to make this a timeshare with Chubb getting most of the work, but Strong coming in to mix it up. Even in a close game, it’s hard to see Chubb getting more than 15 carries in his return to action. Strong could see some work along with D’Onta Foreman.
Until we know how the Browns look to use Chubb, it may be worth waiting a week to insert him into fantasy lineups. However, it’s also hard to say no to his upside. If you’re a team that’s been waiting on Chubb and have a need at running back this week, he could be worth a play.
