Nick Chubb Injury Update Boosts His Fantasy Outlook Going Forward

The Cleveland Browns are coming off one of the most thrilling victories of the 2020 season, but it came at a cost. Odell Beckham Jr. has been ruled out for the rest of the year after tearing his ACL on Sunday.

It's not all doom and gloom on the injury front, however. Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski sounded optimistic that Nick Chubb will be returning in the next few weeks, which would be a massive boost for his fantasy managers.

Nick Chubb Fantasy Outlook

Chubb has been sidelined since midway through Week 4, when he sprained his MCL against the Dallas Cowboys. Thankfully, it sounds like Chubb could be making his return in Week 10, as Cleveland draws a bye in Week 9.

Assuming he's back to full strength then, Chubb would immediately find himself back in the RB1 conversation for a matchup with the Houston Texans. Entering Week 7, Houston was the league's fifth-worst run defense in Football Outsiders' DVOA metrics, and the Texans just gave up 77 rushing yards and a TD on 19 carries to Green Bay Packers' backup RB Jamaal Williams.

It's possible Chubb could be on a snap count if he does return in Week 10, though. Even if he's active, fantasy managers will need to keep a close eye on the Browns' practice reports, but you're probably not going to bench him in a matchup this juicy.

Kareem Hunt Fantasy Outlook

Chubb's return would be a pretty devastating blow to Kareem Hunt's fantasy managers, however. Since taking over for Chubb midway through Week 4, Hunt has averaged 80.8 yards from scrimmage while handling 15.5 carries and 2.8 targets per game, scoring 4 total TDs in that time.

It's safe to assume Hunt's volume will take a sizable hit once Chubb is back. But it might not be quite as dramatic as you think. Hunt was averaging 13.0 carries and 3.7 targets per game in the three contests he played with a healthy Chubb.

Chubb's return would put an end to the days of Hunt as an RB1, but he'd still be a solid RB2, particularly in PPR formats. It's not a bad idea to think about selling high on Hunt, but he'll remain a solid fantasy asset even once Chubb gets back to full strength.

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Max Staley is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Max Staley also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mstaley1212. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.