With the 21st pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Dolphins added to one of the fiercest pass rushes in the NFL by selecting Penn State's Chop Robinson.
A big personality from a big family with eye-popping speed, Robinson makes the trek from Happy Valley to South Florida. Let's get to know Miami's first first-round pick since 2021:
- Production by the numbers
Quarterback sacks make the highlight reel and can have massive swings in the outcome of games. But there's an inherent flaw with the statistic most associated with pass rush production. The full story of a 700-800-snap season isn't conveyed by the sack total.
How the player disrupts the opposing passing game is typically how NFL teams evaluate this critical part of a football team.
"We've always talked about the ability to disrupt the passer," General Manager Chris Grier said. "(Robinson's) disruption numbers are all very high. For us, working through the analytics, watching him and what he does and contributes … we think a lot of traits and the things you see on film translate."
With that in mind, it's easy to see the infatuation. Among all defenders in college football, Robinson ranked sixth in pass rush win rate (20.8 percent) in 2023.
Diving further into the advanced metrics, Robinson finished top of class in quick pressure rate (13 percent), second in time-to-pressure (2.28 seconds), and third in overall pressure rate (18.7 percent). He gets to the quarterback, and he does it quickly.
- If the shoe fits
We'll soon find out where he fits into Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver's system. How his scheme shakes out will be a mystery until the season begins, but there are several elements of Robinson's game that marry up with what the Ravens fronts did under Weaver, and the current personnel in Miami.
These two reps below show Robinson aligned in the A gap – the gap between the center and guard. From there, his quick first step puts interior linemen in peril, typically drawing a double team. That pressure inside opens one-on-one opportunities on the perimeter for Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb and Shaq Barrett.
Miami's blitz packages can be more extravagant with this selection. Nobody is quicker off the ball from the wide alignments in this class, and few players have ever tested better in one of the Scouting Combine's most important metrics.
- Blazing speed
The 4.48 40-yard dash grabbed the headlines when Robinson went through the Combine gauntlet in Indianapolis, but the short-area burst nearly set records.
Robinson traveled 10 yards in 1.54 seconds, just two-tenths of a second shy of the record for defensive ends and outside linebackers in the history of the event. Dolphins fans remember what it was like having Cameron Wake ripping off the left edge of the defensive line – his 10-split time was 1.68.
Here's where some of the game's best measure up in this critical area:
- Love of the Game
"He loves football," Grier said. "He wants to be great. When you meet kids like that who are genuine and you understand that they truly love football and they want to be great and they know that it doesn't come easy and they're going to have to work, that gives him a chance to be the player that everyone thinks he is."
That's a theme in Mike McDaniel's Dolphins locker room. Up and down the roster exists a burning desire to be great, and a dedication to the craft required to reach those heights.
Manny Diaz is the head coach at Duke. Prior to that, he coached Robinson at Penn State, and Jaelan Phillips at the U before that. He made his thoughts known on what Miami has off the edge with those two players.
- Football and family
Robinson grew up in a large family, which is always close to his heart. His father, John, introduced Chop to football at an early age, and the young man took it and ran with it. That made for a fitting conclusion, and an emotional moment, when Robinson went sub-4.5 on the track in Indianapolis.
For more analysis on Chop Robinson, and the rest of the Dolphins 2024 draft class, download the Drive Time Podcast with Travis Wingfield, available wherever you get your podcasts.
