Ravens Underrated Defender Embraces Legendary Comparison

Robinson doesn't just welcome the flattering comparison; he wears it like a badge of honor because he admires and intentionally tries to emulate Johnson from both mentality and physical play style standpoints.

"He was a guy that maybe didn't get all the credit that he deserved – sack wise and pass wise – but he was a dominant run defender, dominant physical, gritty player," Robinson said. "So yes, I've done a couple of deep dives on him and gone through his career here. He's a legend for sure, so it's a blessing to wear his number."

Even though he is heading into just his third season in the league, Robinson carries himself as a seasoned pro, has earned the reputation as one of the hardest workers on the team and is someone that other young players look up to.

"Just the way he goes about his day, just the way I see him work," rookie outside linebacker Mike Green said. "He's out here flying around. He's being very destructive, and I will say he does a lot of things right, so just seeing him ... I didn't really know about him too much before I got here, but [during] my time being here, that's definitely a vet that I can look up to and I can follow behind, because he does the right things."

Johnson wasn't known for his prowess as a pass rusher, with his single-season career-high total being six that he recorded in 2009, and he finished his career with 25.5. Last season, Robinson more than tripled his rookie year sack total of one by logging 3.5, which is half a sack more than Johnson posted in his first four seasons combined despite appearing in all but one game over that span.

"He is a dominant edge-setting force," Ravens outside linebackers coach Matt Robinson said. "He'd been more of a power rusher in his first couple of years, but I think right now, he's definitely working on some finesse moves on the edge that he can work into some of his transition rushes, and I think that'll be a nice piece to his game."

While Robinson enjoys the role he has carved out for himself and the Ravens have other players at the position whose specialties are getting after the quarterback on obvious passing downs, he still wants to prove he is capable of being an every-down edge defender, but would be grateful if his career played out similarly to Johnson's.

"I think for me, I'm always going to be working on expanding my role," Robinson said. "That's important, but at the end of the day, it's so important to me to do what my role is to the best of my ability. So yes, I would be happy with that for sure. [Jarret Johnson] had a great career, and he's a legend in this building. He's on our defensive meeting slideshow every day. He's one of the guys up there, so just playing my role to the best of my ability."

The Ravens made how highly they value Robinson evident in the preseason opener when he got to watch the game from the sidelines with the rest of the established veterans and starters as opposed to playing the bulk of defensive and special teams snaps as was the case last August.

"It is a little weird," Robinson said. "It feels like I was just playing 60, 70 snaps in the preseason game, and now all of a sudden, here we are. So, it's crazy how fast the time has gone, for sure."