We are just hours away from the NFL Draft, and Peter Schrager of the NFL Network is known for having very accurate Mock Drafts. He uses the information he gets from NFL Teams to put it together and release his second mock of this draft season. In this second one, he has Miami trading back in Round 1, and with the 29th overall pick, he has Miami selecting…
Round 1, Pick #29: Chop Robinson, Edge – Penn St
“Yes, they’re already paying Bradley Chubb and soon will have to pay Jaelan Phillips. As we learned last year, though, you can never have too many pass rushers. And there’s a drop-off in talent at the position after Chop. “
NFL.com Draft Profile
Overview
Edge defender who offers the type of elite athleticism we’ve seen from players like Micah Parsons and Myles Garrett. Robinson might not be as fast as Parsons, but he’s close. He’s ultra-twitchy with the explosiveness to get on top of blockers and overwhelm them in an instant. However, he will need to level up his hand skills and attack angles to reach his potential against NFL tackles. Robinson’s electric athletic traits alone should give him a floor as a good NFL starter. If he crafts a rush approach and learns to string moves/counters together, he could reach his ceiling as a destructive force capable of forcing teams to game plan around him.
Strengths
- Possesses rare explosiveness and speed to overwhelm blockers across from him.
- Plays with natural leverage and powerful leg drive to create stress on blocker’s edges.
- Wicked pursuit speed reduces space for outside runners and quarterbacks.
- Able to do battle with big tackles and still set a firm edge.
- Slant quickness creates opportunity to disrupt play design.
- Tears out of his stance like a track sprinter into his rush.
- Exceptional lower-body flexion to dip way low and corner tightly at the turn.
- Finesse tackles without a true anchor will be found out by his bull rush.
Weaknesses
- Relatively modest production totals relative to elite traits.
- Needs to work on technique and hand usage for block take-ons.
- Inconsistent keeping feet under his pads, leading to slippage.
- Hands and feet lack harmony as a pass rusher.
- Still learning to set up tackles and create his itinerary into the pocket.
PFN Draft Profile
Strengths
- Earns his nickname “Chop” with unhinged, maniacal energy as a three-down defender.
- Extremely dense, compact rusher with eye-catching point-of-contact strength and pop.
- Hyper-elite explosive threat with a volcanic first step that can immediately stress angles.
- Able to teleport upfield as a rusher with his stride freedom and long-track explosiveness.
- Has the ankle flexion to reduce his surface area while multitasking around the corner.
- Can suddenly throttle up around the apex and brutally capitalize on angle advantages.
- Searing lateral quickness and twitch allow him to instantly offset blockers at the line.
- Able to use crisp double-swipe, rip combos while working across face against blockers.
- Maximizes his power element with violent extensions, knee drive, and momentum.
- Can widen blockers with his hyperactive twitch, then plow through with bull rushes.
- Elite pursuit speed and urgency make him a constant disruptive threat on the chase.
- Has the strength and natural leverage to set the edge and limit space outside for RBs.
- Can function as an alignment-versatile game wrecker, from shaded 1-tech to 9-tech.
- Ability to generate immediate pressure; can disrupt even quick-game rhythm throws.
Weaknesses
- Lacks elite proportional length, which does detract from his maximum power capacity.
- Non-elite length limits his margin for error against longer, larger offensive tackles.
- While ankle flexion is elite, he exhibits very slight hip and torso stiffness at times.
- At times, can be quicker to load his hands into contact and prepare rush moves.
- Initial hand placement on the attack can be more consistent as misses stall rushes.
- Overarching consistency as a pass-rush technician and combatant can still improve.
- Still working on fleshing out his power arsenal and building off of power rushes.
- Occasionally attempts to bend the corner too late in reps, allowing tackles to recover.
- Sometimes loses his balance when threatening around the apex.
Well, I liked the start of the post…
I’d rather chop Chop, however.