Is Chubb on pace to take home Defensive Player of the Year?

We’re only a little more than halfway through the season, but as of now, Bradley Chubb is looking like one of the most dominant defensive forces in college football.

He’s already made PFF’s mid-season all-American team. He’s on ESPN’s as well. So at what point do we start talking about Chubb receiving some national defensive player of the year awards? Well, based on the latest odds, I think it’s safe to start the conversation. We spoke to an odds-specialist who had this to say:

“Bradley Chubb is a big part of what makes NC State’s defensive front so terrifying. He’s big, powerful, and comes off the edge with furious speed, the kind of speed that can chase down Lamar Jackson from behind. He leads the ACC in tackles for loss (13) and sacks (6.5) and isn’t far from the top of the national leaderboards in either category.

With strong stats and more than a passing grade when it comes to the eye-test, Chubb is among the favorites to win the two national defensive player of the year awards (the Chuck Bednarik Award and Bronko Nagurski Award, which have gone to the same player every year since 2012). Our college oddsmakers at sports betting dime have him at 6/1 halfway through the 2017 season.

As a defensive player, it’s unlikely he’ll be a contender for the Heisman. He is currently an 80/1 longshot, and the rationale for that is two-fold: (a) no primarily defensive player has won the Heisman since Charles Woodson in 1997 and, as a huge special teams contributor, he was more the exception than the rule; (b) even if the Heisman voters were to disabuse themselves of some of their biases, Chubb would have to contend with Alabama cornerback slash safety slash human vacuum cleaner Minkah Fitzpatrick, the best player on the country’s best team.”
We agree that even though Chubb is being listed on Heisman lists, it’s probably not happening. However, national defensive player of the year award is, at this point, still on the table for Chubb.

Now, look, we know individual awards mean nothing if it doesn’t come with winning. So we’re not trying to get distracted in following Chubb’s awards or rankings, but we do want to keep you updated with a post here and there since it’s nice to see a Wolfpack player be so celebrated nationally.