Tag: Chop Robinson

Chop Robinson: ‘I don’t really pay attention’ to pressure, expectations

There are pressures that come with being a first-round pick, but Chop Robinson says that makes no difference to him.

When more than 40 rookies hit the Miami Dolphins’ practice fields Friday for the first day of minicamp, no player drew more eyeballs than pass rusher Chop Robinson.

More than half the players are on tryout contracts, hunting for a spot on an NFL roster, while another 12 were signed as undrafted free agents and face an uphill climb to see the field in the fall. But none face the same kind of pressure to produce that Robinson will as a first-round pick.

“I don’t really pay attention to it, because I know what type of player I am,” Robinson told reporters Friday. “I just go to work every day, compete, give everything I got and control what I can control.”

Robinson, who was the No. 21 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, has a taste for the challenges that come with being a player who draws the attention of an opponent.

“Honestly, just focus on ball, that’s the main thing,” Robinson said. “There really is no big message to it. Just hang with my guys, keep my mind off of it. I had a good d-line coach at Penn State, so I was just able to get better every day and find something to do to get one percent better.”

Fortunately for Robinson, he won’t be the team’s top option off the edge. The Dolphins have a pair of starters who are former first-round picks in Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips, although both are recovering from injuries that ended their 2023 season. There’s also Shaquil Barrett, a 31-year-old veteran with two Pro Bowls under his belt.

That trio should alleviate some of the pressure for Robinson to be an immediate star in the Miami defense. That leash won’t be too long, though. It wasn’t that long ago that the Dolphins picked Charles Harris at No. 22 overall in the 2017 NFL draft and got just 3.5 sacks in three seasons before giving up on the pass rusher. The expectation for Robinson will be to get the sacks rolling in sooner rather than later.

That’s a challenge he says he has no problem shouldering.

“No, it’s been what I’ve been working for,” Robinson said. “I know what I got to do and I know how to handle it. So it’s no big pressure for me.”

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Best photos from first day of Dolphins’ 2024 rookie minicamp

More than 40 rookies put on a Dolphins jersey for the first time Friday. Here are the best photos from day one of minicamp.

More than 40 rookies put on Miami Dolphins jerseys for the first time Friday and hit the practice fields on a hot day in Florida for the team’s rookie minicamp.

While most eyes were on first-round draft pick Chop Robinson, the three-day camp probably won’t matter much to him. It’s mostly a chance for the team’s rookies to learn how an NFL practice is conducted and get familiar with their coaches.

But for more than two dozen players who joined the camp on a tryout basis, their dream of an NFL career may depend on their performance this weekend.

With one day of rookie minicamp in the books, here are the best photos from the practice fields at the Baptist Health Training Complex in Miami:

Blake Ferguson changing jersey number to give Chop Robinson No. 44

Chop Robinson will get his jersey number of choice after all.

Miami Dolphins long snapper Blake Ferguson announced he’s changing his jersey number to No. 48 after a conversation with first-round pick Chop Robinson, who wanted to wear Ferguson’s No. 44.

“I heard from Chop very early Friday morning as he was making his way to Miami Gardens and he was just expressing to me how important the No. 44 was to him and asked if I’d be willing to consider taking a different number,” Ferguson said in a video posted on social media.

“I found that the jersey number that I wore for my last two years in college, and that I was able to win a national championship in, was available. Jersey No. 48. So that’s the jersey I’ll be in moving forward, I’m super, super pumped about it.”

Ferguson also announced that fans who own his No. 44 jersey can send them to the Dolphins facility and he’ll replace it with an autographed No. 48 jersey.

Robinson wore No. 4 during his time at Maryland and then No. 44 in his two seasons at Penn State.

The pass rusher will be the 18th player in Dolphins history to wear the No. 44 jersey. Others include defensive back Paul Lankford, fullback Rob Konrad, and linebacker Elandon Roberts (who later switched to No. 52).

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Draft day video shows Chop Robinson hoping to get picked by Dolphins

“Let [Pittsburgh] get a corner and come get me Miami, please.”

Chop Robinson has been one of the featured players on NFL Films’ annual “Hey Rookie: Welcome to the NFL” program, documenting his path from Penn State star to Miami Dolphins draft pick.

In a preview for an episode airing Tuesday night, a clip shows Robinson sitting on his couch with family waiting to see where he’ll begin his NFL career. In the video, one thing is clear: Robinson really hoped to wind up in Miami.

After the video begins with Jared Verse getting picked by the Los Angeles Rams, Robinson is shown brushing off the selection. “I didn’t want to pay them taxes anyway,” he tells a family member.

Up next in the order was the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 20 overall, followed by the Dolphins at No. 21.

“I need Miami. I want somewhere warm anyway,” Robinson said. “Let [Pittsburgh] get a corner and come get me Miami, please.”

The Steelers didn’t pick a cornerback, but instead addressed the offensive side of the ball by taking lineman Troy Fautanu. And that freed up the Dolphins to make Robinson’s wish come true.

“I feel like it’s a great fit for me,” Robinson told reporters shortly after he was picked Thursday night. “I know it’s beautiful weather in Miami. I don’t know much about the city because I’ve never been that way, but I know I’ll have a great time there just enjoying with my teammates and being part of the team.”

The newest episode of “Hey Rookie: Welcome to the NFL” is scheduled to air Tuesday night at 7 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN2.

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Penn State could get breakout season from sophomore defensive end

Here is a potential breakout defensive player for Penn State this season.

Penn State is coming out of a season where they had two of their edge rushers get drafted by NFL teams over the weekend.

While [autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag] and [autotag]Adisa Isaac[/autotag] will certainly be difficult to replace, their losses are lessened by the return of [autotag]Dani Dennis-Sutton[/autotag] and [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag] moving to defensive end.

As has become the norm for the Nittany Lions under the past few years under defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, they rotated many players across their defensive line throughout a game.

That’s likely going to continue with new defensive coordinator [autotag]Tom Allen[/autotag].

So while it’s nice to have the returning production of Dennis-Sutton and Carter taking on a new role, they’ll still need other players to produce for them to operate like they have in the past.

According to Tyler Donohue of 247Sports, he’s expecting [autotag]Jameial Lyons[/autotag] to have a breakout season this year based on what he’s hearing coming out of spring practices (subscription required).

At 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, he certainly has the frame to be able to compete against Big Ten competition.

Lyons didn’t get much opportunity during his freshman season in 2023 because of how experienced the defensive line room was, but he still has loads of potential based on his four-star rating coming out of high school.

Donohue said that the coaching staff told him that they were confident he would have been able to handle a larger workload if it weren’t for the depth in front of him.

Instead, he was limited to 95 defensive snaps.

Lyons should have plenty of opportunities this season to showcase what he can do and [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] seems to think he’ll take that opportunity, saying that the sophomore has “got a bright future.”

He’ll certainly one to continue monitoring throughout the summer and during the early part of the year.

Dolphins GM explains why team drafted Chop Robinson

Dolphins general manager explains why the team decided to draft Chop Robinson in the first round fo the 2024 NFL draft.

Penn State knew it had one first-round draft pick when the 2024 NFL draft got underway with offensive tackle Olu Fashanu being viewed as a first-round talent for over a year. What was in some slight doubt was whether or not it had a second first-round player in the draft pool. Obviously, that answer turned out to be yes when the Miami Dolphins used the no. 21 overall pick to draft edge rusher Chop Robinson.

Robinson had been trending toward a first-round pick leading up to the draft, so his first-round selection was not a shock to see. But sometimes you just never know what will unfold once the first round gets past a certain point and the anticipated locks for the top half of the draft fly off the board. Team needs may vary as the draft progresses and trade could impact a team’s decision-making. But for the Dolphins, having Robinson right there at no. 21 was all that was needed.

Dolphins general manager Chris Grier reflected on the decision to draft Robinson with the no. 21 pick with the media, and he said it was just a matter of taking the best player available at that point in time.

“I mean obviously you always look at your roster for what it is, but for us it was, like we’ve talked about, just adding the best players in the draft at that point,” Grier said, according to ESPN. “He was rated as one of the top players in this draft for us, so adding him, especially rushing the passer in this league with all the great quarterbacks and the skill, the ability to rush with four and not have to blitz every down and stuff, that creates an advantage for the defense.”

Take a look around the division the Dolphins play in and you can see why pass rushers are important. The Bills have Josh Allen, arguably one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. The Jets have Aaron Rodgers, with Fashanu now getting settled in to help protect him. The Patriots just used their top pick in this draft to select North Carolina’s Drake Maye with the hope he becomes a reliable franchise quarterback after seemingly swinging and missing with their last attempt at replacing Tom Brady. And of course, the Dolphins know there are some other quarterbacks in the conference that need to be pressured, like Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes.

Grier says he and the Dolphins were very happy to see Robinson available when it came time to make their selection.

“So for us, he was a player that we had in high regard with high grades, for us to add him, we were again very excited to have him.”

We shall see how it all plays out down the road. Robinson was hoping Miami would make the call, and now it is up to him to prove they made the right one.

Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

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Watch James Franklin race from Olu Fashanu’s to Chop Robinson’s first round NFL draft party

Penn State head coach James Franklin raced from one draft party to another to celebrate with his players being drafted in the first round.

There is something to be said about the relationships James Franklin fosters with his players and their families. Faced with the likely possibility of having two of his players selected in the first round of the NFL draft, Franklin made sure he was there for both players and their special moments despite being an hour apart from each other.

Franklin attended the draft watch party for Fashanu, who was selected by the New York Jets with the no. 11 overall pick in the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday night. After celebrating with his top offensive lineman and relishing the moment with Fashanu’s family, Franklin had to hit the road to make it to another draft watch party for Chop Robinson, roughly an hour away. And he made it just in time for the call to come to Robinson from the Miami Dolphins with the no. 21 overall pick.

And cameras documented the whole experience for Frnaklin as he rushed from one draft party to the next without missing the big moments at either. It’s a pretty cool video package that is worth a few minutes of your time. You can check it out below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6PsCiIO6Ry/

Catch all of the latest updates from the NFL draft with USA TODAY’s live draft tracker. For a look at each Penn State draft prospect, be sure to check out our Penn State NFL draft tracker.

Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

USA TODAY grades Day 2 NFL draft picks of Penn State players

USA TODAY Sports grades the draft selections of Day 2 picks from Penn State.

After watching two players get drafted in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft on Day 1 of the draft, Penn State saw two more of its players be drafted by NFL franchises on Day 2. Offensive tackle Caedan Wallace may have gone a little earlier than some expected, and defensive end Adisa Isaac looks like a bit of a bargain as a late third-round draft pick. But how are those picks being graded?

Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz of USA TODAY Sports graded every pick from Day 12 of the NFL draft and was seemingly not too impressed with the decisions by two teams to draft Penn State players.

The New England Patriots selected offensive tackle Caedan Wallace with an early third-round draft pick on Day 2, but Middlehurst-Scwartz was not convinced Wallace would be the type of player that could be reliable in protecting the Patriots’ first-round quarterback, Drake Maye of North Carolina. He gave the Patriots a “C” grade for their pick of Wallace.

“[Patriots general manager] Eliot Wolf’s mission to reconfigure New England’s offense continues, as he turns his attention to the Patriots’ front,” Middlehurst-Scwartz said in his breakdown. “Wallace can handle some kind of role along the line, but serving as Drake Maye’s blindside protector seems like a stretch.”

He was a bit more optimistic about the Baltimore Ravens making the decision to draft Adisa Isaac late in the third round. Middlehurst-Schwartz gave the Ravens a “B+” with their selection of the Penn State edge rusher.

“It’s difficult to find pass rushers with premium traits beyond the first two rounds, but the 6-4, 247-pound Isaac boasts the frame and burst to ascend to a starting role,” Middlehurst-Schwartz said. “Though he needs more of a plan in his rushes, he could be an important part of the Ravens’ reloading effort on defense.”

You can see all of USA TODAY’s draft grades for every pick of the second and third rounds to see how your favorite NFL team did. You can also see all of the first-round draft grades, which were solid for the Jets drafting Olu Fashanu and the Dolphins selecting Chop Robinson.

Catch all of the latest updates from the NFL draft with USA TODAY’s live draft tracker. For a look at each Penn State draft prospect, be sure to check out our Penn State NFL draft tracker.

Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Penn State coach James Franklin surprises Chop Robinson at draft party

James Franklin managed to drive across Maryland with only seconds to spare to celebrate with Chop Robinson on Thursday night.

The Penn State Nittany Lions saw two of their players get picked in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft. The New York Jets took offensive tackle Olumuyiwa Fashanu at No. 11 overall and the Miami Dolphins picked pass rusher Chop Robinson 10 selections later.

Penn State coach James Franklin was there to celebrate with both players.

While both are from the state of Maryland, it takes about an hour to make the drive from Fashanu’s hometown to Robinson’s. So Franklin barely made it in time for Robinson to get the phone call from the Dolphins and celebrate with the family.

A video posted by the Penn State football program shows Franklin burst through the front door while Robinson is already talking to Dolphins general manager Chris Grier.

While he was there to celebrate with Robinson in person, Franklin also went to social media to congratulate him.

Robinson began his collegiate career with the Maryland Terrapins before transferring to join Penn State in 2022. In his final season with the team, Robinson earned First Team All-Big Ten and Third Team All-American honors.

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How Penn State’s Chop Robinson fits with the Miami Dolphins

How will Chop Robinson from Penn State fit in with the Miami Dolphins?

The NFL draft’s first round has come and gone, and one of the most polarizing players expected to go on day one has found a home. Penn State edge rusher [autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag] was selected 21st overall by the Miami Dolphins, joining a talented edge group in South Beach.

Robinson has gotten varying evaluations during the draft process, but one thing every scout, analyst, and anyone with a working pair of eyes agrees on one thing: explosiveness. His first step as a pass rusher is generationally good, and he put that to good use as a Nittany Lion in his two years there.

His fit with the Dolphins is a bit of an awkward one, however, as they have two highly regarded pass rushers in Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips. The caveat though is that both of them suffered season-ending injuries late in the season last year. Their status for week one is up in the air, so Robinson could have a big role early in his career.

The possibility of Robinson needing to play significant snaps early is a scary proposition, however. As talented as he is, he has a long way to go as a run defender and as an impact pass rusher. He lacks the strength and length to be stout against the run, and his pass-rush moves are very limited at this point in his development.

Once the starters return to action, his role as a third edge would be perfect for him. He can come in on third downs to add juice to Miami’s pass rush, both off the edge and even as a blitzer from the middle. He had reps lined up over guards and centers at Penn State that were very effective. However they choose to play him, it will be a ton of fun to watch.

Robinson going this high was a surprise, but the NFL has shown time and time again that athleticism and upside always win out over safer picks. For the Dolphins especially, they need to take big swings on high-upside players as they try and get over the hump in the playoffs. If Robinson can develop into a top-end rusher, he will be well worth the pick.