Nick Chubb graded even better than Todd Gurley last year

Todd Gurley was praised throughout the draft process as a special talent, en route to his being selected No. 10 overall by the Rams, and his performance for Georgia in our grading system certainly backed that up. Even though injury and suspension limited Gurley to just 239 snaps, he still finished the year tied for the seventh-best rushing grade in the nation. (Note: All grades, stats and rankings are against Power 5 opponents, with a minimum of 100 carries.)
Gurley forced 40 missed tackles on his way to a nation-leading 123.5 elusive rating, while also averaging 3.98 yards after contact per attempt, the best mark among backs.
On the surface, that seems like a huge loss for Georgia. But the good news for the Bulldogs is that new starter Nick Chubb graded out even better.
Chubb stepped in as a true freshman when Gurley missed time, and wound up finishing the season with the fifth-highest rushing grade among backs. Chubb’s 113.3 elusive rating and 3.84 yards after contact per attempt ranked third and second in the country, respectively. Chubb also ranked eighth in the nation with a 50.7 breakaway percentage (which measures the percentage of yards gained on big plays), compared to Gurley’s 46.9 percent, and his 1.59 yards per route run compared favorably to Gurley’s performance as a pass-catcher (0.79).
Georgia would certainly rather still have both backs, but Chubb is capable of matching if not exceeding Gurley’s production in 2015.