The 2024 NFL Draft is getting close, making it an excellent time to highlight some of the class' best players with scouting reports. Each report will include strengths, weaknesses and background information.
Here's our report on Darius Robinson.
Robinson’s size, physical traits and country strength are very reminiscent of the old-school strong side DE in 4-3 under-over fronts with his power capacity and lock-out strength two of his most defining traits. Robinson is a big man with outstanding length and mass throughout his body and his game reflects those physical attributes with strong hands and arm extension to lock out two of the most critical traits in his arsenal.
What consistently stood out watching Robinson’s tape was his strength-power generation in confined space to control offensive tackles and then his short-area twitch and quickness to play off contact and make plays in the run game.
As a pass rusher, Robinson was a power player who generated speed and velocity off the snap and then used his strong hands and body power to bull rush tackles and drive them back into the pocket or some cases right to the ground. Robinson’s tape reveals there is much more to unleash as he continues to develop with coaching and experience at the next level. The bottom line is that his game is based on strength and power, and while he can add better technique and more moves and counters as a pass rusher, he will not become an explosive bend-the-edge, flatten-his-rush-path athlete.
Robinson likely projects and transitions best to the next level as a strong side defensive end in a 4-3 defensive front or a 3-technique/4i/5-technique in a five-man front with the strong likelihood that he would be reduced inside as a defensive tackle in a four-man pass-rush front.
Is there a comparison to be made to Cam Jordan? Can Robinson become that kind of player as he grows and develops? Can he stay outside as a DE even in pass run fronts? Is Denico Autry a better NFL comparison, the kind of player who can play both outside and inside depending on the front and the other personnel?
Robinson played five years at Missouri with 30 total starts. In 2023 he was First-Team All-SEC with 8.5 sacks and 14 tackles-for-loss.
Robinson lined up in multiple positions in Missouri’s defensive front depending on personnel and down and distance. He was a wide defensive end pass rusher in four-man fronts and at times lined up inside at 3-technique and 4i in 5 man fronts.
Against Georgia, he had a third-down snap in which he lined up as a standup Joker off the ball in the middle of the defense. His sack vs. Georgia is a defining snapshot of what Robinson is as an edge pass rusher: Burst off the ball.
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