Chuba Hubbard puts himself on NFL Draft radar with dazzling performance

Oklahoma State running back Chuba Hubbard needs to be on everybody’s 2020 NFL Draft radar after his incredible performance in the season debut.

The 2020 NFL draft class is expected to be absolutely loaded at the running back position. With guys like D’Andre Swift, Travis Etienne and Jonathan Taylor as possible, if not likely, first-round picks and J.K. Dobbins, Eno Benjamin and Ke’Shawn Vaughn not far behind, there is going to be plenty of running back talent to go around.

On Friday night, exciting running back exploded onto the scene, and he is a guy who I am definitely going to be keeping an eye on when it comes to the 2020 NFL Draft. Oklahoma State defeated Oregon State on Friday night by a score of 52-36. Cowboys running back Chuba Hubbard was a major reason for all of their offensive success.

Against Oregon State, Hubbard carried the ball 26 times. With those carries, he was able to pile up 221 yards and three touchdowns. Simply put, this guy was unstoppable in Oklahoma State’s season opener.

Hubbard is an extremely smart and patient back who will not force the action, doing a nice job of taking what the defense gives him. Hubbard is also an incredibly agile and elusive runner who shows fantastic quickness in short spaces and can make defenders miss in the open field with ease. He consistently strings together moves using his fantastic natural instincts to slip would-be tacklers.

Hubbard put his impressive overall skill-set on display on Saturday night, routinely finding open space in the run game and making the most out what was given to him. He is an extremely slippery player who Oregon State simply had no chance of containing.

The Oklahoma State back will likely continue to do a ton of damage this season, as he should be able to eat up the weak defenses in the Big 12. However, if he expects to be among the elites at the running back position in the 2020 NFL Draft, he does have some work to do.

Hubbard has not shown much as a receiver out of the backfield to this point. In today’s NFL, teams need a back who can catch the ball and make as much of an impact in the passing game as he does as a runner. Hubbard may have that skill-set in his arsenal, but we simply have not seen it yet.

On top of that, I would like to see more big plays out of the Oklahoma State running back. Hubbard does a fantastic job of running inside, making the first defender miss and hitting the second level. However, he has not shown much natural burst through the hole or legitimate long speed that allows him to break big plays. If Hubbard can start running through the third-level and beating defenders with angles, he is going to be an incredibly difficult player to keep in check.

When it comes down to it, Chuba Hubbard is an incredibly exciting running back prospect who has nice upside at the next level. With a couple of specific improvements to his game, Hubbard could quickly become top-tier 2020 NFL Draft prospect.