Sam Robinson

Writer

Sam Robinson is a sportswriter from Kansas City, Missouri. He primarily covers the NFL for Yardbarker. Moving from wildly injury-prone sprinter in the aughts to reporter in the 2010s, Sam set up camp in three time zones covering everything from high school water polo to Division II national championship games. He has since settled in as the husband of a track and field coach, concentrating on the NFL. Boasting an unhealthy interest in the league’s history and fashion trends, Sam is the lead writer for Pro Football Rumors and has written about the sport for Yardbarker since 2018. In addition to working as a writer/editor for a few newspapers – the Cleveland Plain Dealer and St. Joseph (Missouri) News-Press, to name two – in a former life that included some awkward awards-show hosting gigs thankfully inaccessible online, Sam has written about the Olympics for The Athletic.

EXPERTISE:

NFL, track and field, boxing

Twitter/X: @srobinson25

Muck Rack: sam-robinson

The Athletic: Sam's Author Page

May 12, 2020 | NFL

The best running back duos in NFL history

The Broncos signed Melvin Gordon to team with two-time 1,000-yard back Phillip Lindsay, giving them a high-profile backfield. The newly created tandem will attempt to measure itself against some of the best to come before it. On that subject, here are the best running back duos in NFL history.

May 11, 2020 | NFL

Pass/fail: Assessing NFL's best, worst quarterback situations

The Saints have the NFL's all-time leading passer as starting QB. His backup led the league in passing last season. Yardbarker's Sam Robinson, Chris Mueller and Michael Nania weigh in on the best and worst quarterback rooms in the NFL.

May 8, 2020 | NFL

NFL schedule aims for normalcy amid a year of uncertainty

Contingencies are in place in case games get canceled, and the NCAA and uncertainty surrounding the college football season could have a profound effect on the NFL, Yardbarker's Sam Robinson writes.

May 6, 2020 | NFL

The most (and least) improved NFL positional groups

Several teams made major changes to their depth charts this offseason — many doing so at wide receiver. After free agency and the draft, here are the NFL's most and least improved position groups.

May 6, 2020 | NFL

Beyond Belichick: Who is this era's second-best NFL head coach?

The Patriots' Bill Belichick has no modern equal as an NFL head coach. So where do Mike Tomlin, Andy Reid, Sean Payton, Pete Carroll and John Harbaugh fall on the head coach hierarchy. Yardbarker's Sam Robinson weighs in.

May 5, 2020 | NFL

Later-round and undrafted NFL rookies who could end up starting in 2020

NFL teams rely on mid- and late-round contributors, with those low salaries helping balance out payrolls across the league. While there will be several gems to come out of the 2020 draft's third day — and the subsequent undrafted free agency period — here are the players who may make moves into starting lineups as rookies.

May 5, 2020 | NFL

NFL vets who could be benched for rookies in 2020

The latest round of draft picks are primed to challenge veterans for jobs. Several vets will be outgunned from the start, while some will provide greater resistance.

May 4, 2020 | NFL

An empty feeling: Three NFL teams with major holes to fill

After Ben Roethlisberger's 2019 season ended with an elbow injury, Steelers backup QB were underwhelming. But Pittsburgh has done nothing in the offseason to address the position. Yardbarker's Chris Mueller, Sam Robinson and Michael Nania examines teams with greatest voids.

May 1, 2020 | NFL

Veteran QB addition no longer enough for middle-class Patriots

Earlier this offseason, the prospect of the Patriots acquiring Andy Dalton to succeed Tom Brady appeared logical. Not anymore, writes Yardbarker's Sam Robinson.

April 30, 2020 | NFL

Every NFL team's most head-scratching offseason move

With the draft over, the 32 NFL franchises' rosters are nearly finalized. Barring some late free agency work, teams' depth charts can be predicted. With that in mind, here is each team's most curious decision of the 2020 offseason thus far.

April 29, 2020 | NFL

Worst to first: A post-NFL Draft ranking of skill-position groups

The Cowboys' addition of first-round pick CeeDee Lamb thrusts their skill-position group near the top of the list in the NFL. Yardbarker's Sam Robinson evaluates how each team's array of wide receivers, tight ends and running backs stack up.

April 28, 2020 | NFL

Ranking each team's QB situation after the NFL Draft

In New Orleans, a former No. 1 overall pick coming off a 5,000 yard season joins the NFL's passing kingpin and its most versatile active player to form a unique group. Yardbarker's Sam Robinson ranks the league's QB situations from worst to first.

April 27, 2020 | NFL

Teams that crushed it (Cowboys!) or blew it (Patriots) in draft

Besides Dallas, who else had a great draft? Yardbarker's Sam Robinson, Chris Mueller and Michael Nania weigh in.

April 26, 2020 | NFL

32 roster issues to monitor after the 2020 NFL Draft

The 85th NFL Draft is in the books, and teams will pin their hopes on a new set of rookies. Franchises reveal plenty about their view of not only rookies but their returning players during drafts.

April 24, 2020 | Green Bay Packers

Where's the love? Packers return to familiar pattern of impeding Rodgers

The Packers' first-round selection of Utah State QB Jordan Love over a position player who could contribute immediately will worsen their odds of prevailing in a loaded NFC, writes Yardbarker's Sam Robinson.

April 23, 2020 | NFL

Boom or bust? Why first-round picks will/won't succeed

The 2020 first round is in the books, from No. 1 Joe Burrow (Bengals) to No. 32 Clyde Edwards-Helaire (Chiefs). It may be years before we get a true indication of each player's NFL value. But here's a super-early assessment of why each may excel ... or each could flop.