Take Chuba Hubbard in the middle third of your fantasy football draft and stop worrying about whether Jonathon Brooks’ knee holds up. I’m fully on board with fading Brooks giving his steam, and Hubbard is about as clean a way to do it as this range offers.
Brooks is coming off consecutive ACL tears in the same right knee. I hope he’s healthy for the story, but betting on it is not something I’m going to do. That’s a body part that has failed twice, and I’m not interested in paying draft capital on the hope that the third time is different.
Why Chuba Hubbard Is the Right Bet Against Jonathon Brooks’ Health
The instinct with a back on a bad team is to assume the touches won’t matter or hold a ton of value. Last season, five of the top eight fantasy running backs on a PPR points-per-game basis played for teams with losing records. Team success just isn’t the gatekeeper for running back production as it’s treated, which removes one of the bigger objections to Hubbard’s profile.
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What’s left is volume, and Hubbard’s volume is real. Over 2023 and 2024, he averaged 17.8 touches per game, 12th most at the position over that span. Workloads like that get scarce fast once you’re past the first few rounds of a draft, and Hubbard is delivering his in the middle third, not round one or two.
He’s also proven he can do damage across formats, not just rack up empty carries. In 2024, only three running backs reached double-digit rushing touchdowns and 40 catches: Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Hubbard. That’s a versatile production portfolio that survives a bad week on the ground because the receiving work is still there to lean on.
Stability Has Real Value in the Middle Rounds
Drafts in the middle third are where managers start reaching for upside bets that come with a real chance of hitting zero. Hubbard isn’t that. He’s a back with a proven touch share, a receiving role that holds up in all formats, and TD production that’s already shown up on his resume. That’s the definition of stability, and stability at this point in a draft is underrated.
Brooks still carries name recognition from his college tape and his draft capital, and some rooms will pay for that regardless of the injury history. I’d rather let someone else take that swing. Two ACL tears in the same knee is exactly the kind of health risk you can hedge against cheaply, and Hubbard’s touch volume plus receiving role gives you a real bet, not a lottery ticket, in return.
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Draft Hubbard with the expectation that his role looks something like it has the last two seasons. If Brooks’ knee cooperates, fine, you still got a productive back at a discount. If it doesn’t, you’re the one holding the touches.
