The Cleveland Browns didn't have the 2022 campaign they were hoping for, but given all the roadblocks that fell in front of them throughout the season, it was pretty understandable. While there were a handful of players who didn't exactly deliver for the Browns throughout the season, one guy who ended up turning in the best year of his career was Nick Chubb.

A second-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Chubb quickly turned himself into one of the top running backs in the league. Chubb has earned four straight Pro Bowl selections in his first first seasons in the league, and even earned his first All Pro selection as part of the second team for his efforts with Cleveland last year.

While Chubb was great for the Browns last year, he was also fantastic for fantasy football owners who were wise enough to invest a high draft pick in the talented rusher. After a standout 2022 campaign, let's take a look at what could be in store for Chubb from a fantasy perspective in the 2023 season.

Nick Chubb's 2023 Fantasy Football outlook

Chubb has made it clear throughout the beginning of his career that he is a star, but 2022 is when he took things to the next level. Chubb played in all 17 games for Cleveland, and put up some massive numbers as a result (302 CAR, 1525 YDS, 12 TD, 27 REC, 239 YDS, 1 TD). Chubb had to take on a bigger workload with Deshaun Watson missing the first 11 games of the season, and he delivered.

In fantasy football, Chubb finished the season as the sixth-highest scoring running back in the league in standard PPR scoring formats. Chubb's lack of involvement as a pass-catcher ultimately prevented him from cracking the top five here, but he provides more than enough production on the ground to make him one of the top running backs available to fantasy owners on a yearly basis.

Heading into 2023, Chubb's standing within the Browns offense is set in stone. Chubb is clearly Cleveland's top running back, but whereas he had Kareem Hunt lurking behind him in past seasons, that is no longer the case. Hunt is still a free agent, but given how he requested a trade off the Browns before last season even started, it's safe to say his days in Cleveland are over.

This is a pretty big development for Chubb, because as we just mentioned, his lack of involvement as a receiver had been his biggest weakness from a fantasy perspective to start his career. Hunt was the main receiving back for the Browns these past few years, and nobody was really been brought in to replace him, so it's safe to assume those targets will be going to Chubb now.

Beyond that, Chubb will likely continue to carry a heavy workload for the Browns on the ground. Having Watson back for a full season should help the passing attack take some pressure off of Chubb's shoulders, but there are going to be times where he has to bail his offense out. Chubb is good enough to do just that, and that will often result in big games for fantasy football owners.

There are some concerns with Chubb's fantasy stock, but they aren't particularly pressing. As we noted, Chubb isn't a great receiver, and while that could change this upcoming season, there's no sense in counting on him to produce in that area. There's also some concern as to how Chubb's legs will hold up now that he's set for an even bigger workload in the backfield, although he's generally been pretty durable to start his career.

The main thing holding Chubb back from a fantasy perspective in prior seasons was his timeshare with Hunt, but that's not an issue anymore. Considering how Chubb is coming off the biggest season of his career, and will have an even bigger share of the work out of the backfield for Cleveland, it's safe to expect his draft stock to be on the rise ahead of draft day.

Chubb will likely be one of the first five running backs off the board considering how two of the guys who finished ahead of him last year in terms of fantasy scoring in Josh Jacobs and Saquon Barkley currently are set to skip the beginning of training camp. Chubb's draft position will likely be late in the first round or early in the second round, with there being virtually no shot of him falling past the second round.

By now, it's well known Chubb is a top-tier fantasy football option at running back, and nothing about that has changed heading into 2023. Expect another big season from Chubb, and when all is said and done, it wouldn't be surprising to see him finish as a top five running back in terms of fantasy football scoring when the season is over.