Wide Receiver

Arizona State

6-4 229

Draft board overall prospect rank: #78

Draft board overall wide receiver rank: #14

Overall rating: 71 (3^rd rounder)

40 time: 4.62

Games watched: Arizona State/Missouri, USC/Arizona State, Boise State/Arizona State

Positives

·         Physical freak

·         Plays with physicality

·         Fearless

·         Willing and able blocker

·         Works the middle of the field incredibly well

·         Finished 2011 season on fire (58 catches for 1095 yards and 4 touchdowns in 8 games)

·         Incredibly productive 2011 season overall  (77 catches for 1397 yards and 7 touchdowns)

·         Didn’t quit on Arizona State during 5 game losing streak

·         Much improved player in 2^nd half of 2011 season

·         Great size (6-4 229)

·         Can catch ball in traffic

·         Good body control

·         Big, strong, reliable hands

·         Dangerous in open field

·         Breaks tackles

·         Heavily recruited in 2008 (4 star) as an athlete (wide receiver/safety)

·         Pro Style offense experience

Negatives

·         Didn’t do much of anything in his first 3 years at Arizona State (combined 58 catches for 674 yards and 5 touchdowns)

·         Underachieving one year wonder who woke up when he smelled the money?

·         Lacks breakaway speed

·         Slow off the line of scrimmage

·         Route running needs some work

·         Questionable football intelligence

·         Tends to be a body catcher sometimes

·         Tight hipped, straight line athlete

·         6-4, but only 7 touchdowns as a senior?

NFL Comparison: Poor man’s Anquan Boldin

At his best, Robinson reminds me of Anquan Boldin in his prime in Arizona. Boldin didn’t have breakaway speed or anything, but he was incredibly physical and fearless and reliable as a possession receiver, especially over the middle. When he was traded to Baltimore to be the main guy, he began to struggle, but he really thrived in Arizona, in a pass heavy offensive, working the middle of the field and the short part of the field with Larry Fitzgerald drawing coverage away from him.

Like Boldin, Robinson is incredibly fearless and physical. In his bowl game against Boise State, he had an incredible 13 catches for 241 yards and a touchdown. Most of those catches were over the middle. He took a huge hit on one play, held on, and then went back over the middle for a catch on the next play. He also proved himself to be a physical and willing run blocker and incredibly tough to break down in the open field.

He’s a lot to bring down and a big target at 6-4 227 with good body control. He’s also got big, strong hands that are fairly reliable, though he needs to work more on being less of a body catcher and more of a hands catcher. He’s not going to blow the top off the defense and he’s slow getting off the line and for some reason he only had 7 touchdowns at his size in his best season, but I still think he has a ton of upside as a #2 possession receiver and an end zone threat.

However, as a prospect, he’s going to be a bit boom or bust. He’s not necessarily going to be Boldin. It’s a bit concerning that he did next to nothing in his first 3 years. In his first 3 years, he was basically just a top recruit that never lived up to the billing, a physical freak who couldn’t put it together. He was recruited as an athlete and was looked at by most teams as a safety, so there were questions about whether or not he had enough knowledge of the wide receiver position to ever live up to his billing.

However, midway through his senior season, the light seemed to click and he turned into Anquan Boldin, only bigger. In his last 8 games, he had 58 catches for 1095 yards and 4 touchdowns. He had more yards in those 8 games than he had in his first 3 and a half seasons. The question is whether or not this will continue into the pros.

As a prospect, he reminds me a bit of Denarius Moore, though they are very different style receivers. However, Moore had all the tools, but didn’t turn it on until midway through his senior season when the light clicked. In his last 6 games, he had 29 catches for 721 yards and 5 touchdowns. He was a 5^th round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft and had a strong rookie season for the Raiders. Robinson will probably be drafted in the same range and will likely outperform the round he was drafted in, maybe even immediately as a rookie. I have a 3^rd round grade on him, though I acknowledge that he’s somewhat boom or bust.