Dolphins’ Bradley Chubb emerging as ‘another coach’ in second season with defense

After what linebacker Bradley Chubb called a challenging start to his Dolphins career due to new surroundings and injury, he is poised to emerge as an impact player – and a coach on the field.

On Friday, Chubb was sporting an orange jersey in recognition of his outstanding performance during Thursday’s practice.

With cornerback Jalen Ramsey expected to miss the beginning of the 2023 season after an injury to his meniscus on Thursday that required surgery, Chubb is the lone defensive starter who has experience playing in a Vic Fangio scheme.

This year, his top aim is to set the tone and become “more of a leader.”

“My main thing is just being the person that Denver drafted and Miami decided, ‘Okay, yeah, we need that guy on our team,’” Chubb said in April. “So that’s my leadership, that’s my intensity, that’s my playstyle. So just got to get back to that man. I’m already taking steps to do that and so once the season gets going, I feel like it’s going to be full steam ahead.”

Chubb is entering his first full season as a Dolphin and brings with him an immense amount of experience, versatility and athleticism to the defense after being traded to Miami from Denver last November. He later signed an extension that keeps him in Miami through the 2027 season and makes him the sixth-highest paid pass rusher in the league with an average annual value of $22 million.

One year prior to Fangio becoming the head coach of the Broncos, Chubb was selected by Denver with the fifth overall pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. After reuniting with his former coach, he revealed in April that Fangio is “one of my favorite coaches that I’ve been in the room with.”

Friday’s performance was a glimpse of how Fangio could get Chubb back to his peak form.

On a day when the defense recorded a dozen sacks, Chubb contributed to the total and also had multiple tackles in the run game.

Chubb was pleased with how the defense performed Friday despite Ramsey’s absence.

After Ramsey’s injury, Chubb said after practice that it’s encouraging for the Dolphins’ defense to have a day like it did on Friday.

He also said that the group has a “next man up” mindset, and that players are carrying out their intended roles.

“Whenever you lose a key piece like that, guys might get down, but then on the other hand, a lot of people stepped up,” Chubb said. “A lot of people did exactly what they were brought here to do [which is] step up and make plays for this defense.

He added: It sucks that he went down, man. But it’s just got to be the next man up. [Ramsey] said yesterday that it’s just got to be the next man up. Everybody has to compete and make sure that when he comes back that we’re full speed ahead. So, it’s going to be a journey for this defense to rally around each other and gather up and make sure we’re doing everything we need to do.”

In his rookie season with the Broncos, Chubb recorded 12 sacks – which led NFL rookies and set a Broncos rookie record – and earned the title of NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for October. He was also selected to the Pro Bowl three times including in his first year in Miami as an alternate. .

But Chubb only had 2.5 sacks in eight games and dealt with injuries compared to 5.5 in Denver before he was traded.

As he enters his sixth season, he feels as though he’s “kind of like another coach out there” as other players frequently approach him for advice on plays. Because of this, he holds himself to a higher standard.

Defensive tackle Zach Sieler vouched for this, and said that Chubb is a “great asset to have” on the defense.

“It’s nice to have a guy that’s been in it,” Sieler said. “Coach will teach us one thing and it’ll be exactly how it should be. But [we ask him], ‘Hey, how are you running this? What are you doing differently? What have you done having run this before in a game? What should we do and what should we look for?’”

Chubb arrived in Miami on a winning streak before the Dolphins experienced a five-game losing streak on their way to the playoffs. But according to Chubb, that only strengthens the group and prepares it for this coming season’s adversity, one already tested by the loss of Ramsey.

“We know what it feels like to go on those five game losing streaks and we know what it feels like to go on a five game winning streak,” Chubb said. “We know those feelings [and] we just got to make sure we’re on the right side of it.”

This story was originally published July 28, 2023 at 4:53 PM.