Chop Robinson Needs to Step Up in Year 3

Chop Robinson Needs to Step Up in Year 3

After being drafted in 2024, Chop Robinson was able to ease into a situational pass-rushing role as Miami still had veterans, Jalen Phillips and Emmanuel Ogbah, on the roster.

Just a few games into the season, Phillips went down with a season-ending injury, and Bradley Chubb, the Dolphins’ other edge defender, never came back from an injury.

Suddenly, Robinson was thrust into a bigger role.

As the season progressed in 2024, it seemed like Chris Grier and company made the right decision in selecting Robinson, as he finished the year with six sacks.

Heading into 2025, Robinson seemed poised to continue that late-season dominance.

The,n starting from the preseason, Robinson never got fully going.

After suffering an injury in training camp, he was not the same player and finished 2025 with only four sacks and a forced fumble.

Even with the trade of Phillips mid-season, Robinson still could not capitalize.

Now, heading into 2026, Robinson is the only returning edge rusher with any valuable experience, as Phillips and Ogbah are gone, and Chubb seems likely to be a cap casualty.

Luckily for Robinson, new head coach Jeff Hafley has experience building his defense around dominant edge rushers.

Whether it was at Ohio State with Chase Young, or in Green Bay with Rashan Gary and Micah Parsons, Hafley’s defense relies on dominant pressure off the edge.

And unlike in past stops with a solid interior defensive line, Miami does not have so much youth and inexperience as 3/4 of the Dolphins’ defensive tackles will only be in their second year.

If, however, players like Kenneth Grant and Jordan Phillips, that should allow for Robinson to excel in his first year for Hafley.

Also, expect the Dolphins to beef up the edge opposite of Robinson in the draft with someone like Keldric Faulk or Rueben Bain Jr in the first round, while Tyreak Sapp could be an option in the middle rounds.

Any of these picks would help on early run downs to help secure the edge, which would allow opponents to be in third-and-long situations.

Those are the situations that should see Robinson feast against opposing offensive lines.

If he does not regain the form from the end of his rookie year, Robinson might not last much longer in South Florida.