Players picked Jonathan Taylor over Nick Chubb, proving they aren’t better analysts

NFL players really put Jonathan Taylor over Nick Chubb.

Touchdowns are not the end all be all of stats. This is the home run of the NFL world. It’s really easy to score touchdowns, especially when you’re the sole focus of the offense. Want proof? Trent Richardson in the AAF scored 11 touchdowns and rushed for just 2.9 yards per carry.  Jonathan Stewart, back-to-back 10 touchdown seasons. T.J. Duckett? 11 touchdowns.

Richardson had his issues as a player, Stewart wasn’t better than DeAngelo Williams, and Duckett wasn’t better than Tiki Barber. Touchdowns aren’t a sign of talent, they’re a sign of use. Nick Chubb is the best pure runner in the NFL, full stop. He’s the most consistent, the most persistent and the man can dominate a season in just eight games.

So to see him, Chubb, at No. 33 in the NFL payer selected Top 100, but Taylor at No. 5 is an insult and proof that NFL players make for the worst analysts. This is JJ Redick trying to dunk on Bob Cousy levels of stupid. Taylor has had two years of success on a team that features him, and only him.

Chubb split carries with Kareem Hunt (100 attempts) and D’Ernest Johnson (78 attempts). They combined for over 900 yards. Just between the two of them. If we look at every other person who rushed the ball with the Colts in 2021, they totaled just 729 yards outside of Taylor.

If Chubb got the same number of carries as Taylor, he’d have more yards and almost as many touchdowns. This is proof that the final stat line, and not how good they are on the field, is the driving force over “whose better”.

If it was about who was better, Chubb would always be at the top of the class.

Nick Chubb is better but Jonathan Taylor is still great

Now, this isn’t to knock Taylor. I’d put Taylor somewhere between 5th and 3rd depending on the health of Saquon Barkley and Christian McCaffery. Taylor is no slouch, but this is again proof that most players don’t actually watch one another, because if they watched Chubb and how hard he is to take down, there wouldn’t be a debate.

Chubb isn’t someone who goes down easy. This is important, especially when you realize that statistically speaking, the Colts had a better offensive life than the Browns. Taylor averaged 2.6 yards per handoff before he made first contact with the defense, while Chubb only had 2.5.

Moreover, Chubb averaged a much better rate of broken tackle, averaging one every 9.9 attempts, while Taylor averaged one every 13.3. So not only was Chubb hit sooner per rush, but he broke more tackles than Taylor, all while averaging the same average per attempt.

Chubb being the 33rd best player in the league but Taylor being 5th is proof that the NFL players really just vote for who they like the most, and therefore, these Top 100 ratings mean absolutely nothing.