Tag: Chop Robinson

Chop Robinson wants to wear No. 44 with the Dolphins, but it’s taken

Chop Robinson says he’d like to wear No. 44 with the Dolphins, but that jersey has belonged to long snapper Blake Ferguson.

Chop Robinson wore No. 44 during his two seasons with the Penn State Nittany Lions. He’d like to wear it with the Miami Dolphins too.

“Of course 44, but I don’t know who has 44 or if it’s open, so I haven’t really looked at it yet,” Robinson told reporters, via Chris Perkins of the Sun Sentinel.

Just one problem: Dolphins long snapper Blake Ferguson has been the proud owner of No. 44 since he was picked by the team in the 2020 NFL draft.

So far, Ferguson hasn’t said anything about the possibility of handing the number over to the rookie. He did, however, celebrate the pick when it was made Thursday night.

Robinson didn’t sound particularly concerned about the possibility that he’d have to change numbers, though. He wore No. 4 during his one season with the Maryland Terrapins and he was Nos. 42 and 44 in high school.

Dolphins cornerback Kader Kohou owns the No. 4 jersey. Maybe a return to No. 42, which is currently unclaimed, would interest Robinson. Either way, it doesn’t seem like a battle for No. 44 is on the way.

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Dolphins turned away ‘4 or 5 teams’ that wanted to trade for No. 21

The Dolphins had the option to trade down from No. 21, but decided it wasn’t worth the risk of possibly losing out on Chop Robinson.

The Miami Dolphins entered the 2024 NFL draft without third- or fourth-round selections, making the team an obvious candidate to trade back in the first round to recoup some mid-round value.

But when teams came calling for the No. 21 overall selection Thursday night, Dolphins general manager Chris Grier wasn’t interested.

“The phone calls all at that point were really coming into us about people trying to move up to our spot,” Grier said Thursday night. “We had about four or five teams that were trying to move into our spot and as the board kept falling to us, which we thought it would … we decided to stay where we were because the offers weren’t enticing enough for us to move.”

It’s anyone’s guess how much the Dolphins were offered for the No. 21 pick. Three selections after Miami took pass rusher Chop Robinson, the Detroit Lions traded up from No. 29 to No. 24 by making a deal that sent a third-rounder (No. 73 overall) to the Dallas Cowboys.

According to most trade value charts, that was a big price to pay to go up five spots in the first round and would’ve been fair compensation to send the Lions from No. 29 to No. 21.

It would make sense if the Dolphins were hypothetically offered the No. 73 selection to slide down eight spots in the order. And it would also be logical if Miami determined it was unlikely to end up with a player as good as Robinson by taking that deal.

Grier told reporters Thursday night that Robinson “was our targeted player.” So much so that other teams couldn’t convince the Dolphins to slide away from the No. 21 pick.

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WATCH: Chop Robinson learns he’s joining the Dolphins

Chop Robinson was pumped Thursday night when he found out he was joining the Dolphins.

There are always relatively awkward moments during the NFL draft when a player looks miserable learning which team he’s joining. It’s mostly due to television feed delays, like when Joe Alt stared into the void while ESPN talked about the Los Angeles Chargers picking him.

The Miami Dolphins didn’t have to worry about figuring out Chop Robinson was feeling when he became the No. 21 overall pick Thursday night. The former Penn State pass rusher’s excitement was palpable on both sides of the phone call.

“I feel like it’s a great fit for me,” Robinson told reporters later 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.”

So to answer Mike McDaniel’s question, yes, it sounds like Robinson is very OK with becoming the newest member of the Dolphins.

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20 best players available for Ravens on Day 2 of the 2024 NFL draft

Day One of the 2024 NFL draft is in the books, and it was a historic night. Six quarterbacks were selected in the first 12 picks, and 23 offensive players were selected, the most ever. Baltimore was able to land one of the top cornerbacks on the …

Day One of the 2024 NFL draft is in the books, and it was a historic night. Six quarterbacks were selected in the first 12 picks, and 23 offensive players were selected, the most ever.

Baltimore was able to land one of the top cornerbacks on the board without trading up.

Rounds two and three will play out on Friday night, and the Eagles will have two picks in Round 2 and none in Round 3.

Here is our list of the best players on the board during day two of the NFL draft.

Dolphins tried to trade for another 1st-round pick, says Chris Grier

Chris Grier says the Dolphins made an effort to trade back into the first round after picking Chop Robinson.

When the Miami Dolphins picked pass rusher Chop Robinson at No. 21 overall Thursday, general manager Chris Grier didn’t call it a night. He took a shot at putting together a trade for another pick in the first round.

“We were sitting there, there were a couple players at the end we were excited for, so we were active even trying to get back in to get another one here in the late first,” Grier said.

With the No. 55 pick in the second round as the only other top 150 selection still in the Dolphins’ arsenal after picking Robinson, it’s possible Miami dangled 2025 first- or second-round picks as trade bait in their effort to get another 2024 first-rounder.

Who would’ve been worth such an offer? Perhaps 6’8 offensive tackle Tyler Guyton who visited the Dolphins earlier this month before getting picked by the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night. Or speedy Texas receiver Xavier Worthy, who was reportedly “circled for Miami” by some teams, but instead landed with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Unsurprisingly, Grier didn’t divulge which players kept him on the phones late into the night Thursday. Maybe one of those prospects is still on the board and the Dolphins will make an effort to climb early on Friday.

While many thought the Dolphins would aim to trade back in the first round and recoup the mid-round selections they’re missing, evidently that’s not the strategy Grier has in mind.

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Dolphins’ Chop Robinson says hand technique caused lack of production

How does a pass rusher as athletic as Chop Robinson only record nine sacks in two seasons? He explained Thursday night.

The Miami Dolphins’ newly drafted edge rusher Chop Robinson has been a top prospect for the past year, and ended up getting selected at No. 21 overall in the 2024 NFL draft.

The former Nittany Lions lineman was an elite athlete, but the production didn’t always match his athletic profile. While at Penn State, Robinson totaled 17.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks in two seasons.

His in-game stats may not have popped off the stat sheet, but he says he knows why he wasn’t a sack machine.

“It was just being inconsistent with my hands,” Robinson told reporters after he was drafted Thursday night. “I know I had the speed and the bend, but sometimes I forget to use my hands. But that’s something I’ve been working on this whole offseason, and I feel very confident because I’ve been working on this so much repeatedly, and I know it’s going to be natural when it comes time to put my hands to use.”

Despite his lack of production, Robinson tested at the top of his position at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. He finished top two in the 40-yard dash (4.48 seconds), 10-yard split (1.54 seconds), 20-yard shuttle (4.25 seconds), and broad jump (128 inches).

With elite athleticism and room to improve technically, Robinson is happy with the situation he’s entering in Miami. He’ll soon join a group of edge rushers that includes Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips, and Shaquil Barrett.

“I feel like that’s going to be a great situation for me – come in there, learn from those guys, compete every day, being able to take things from them and take it to my game and vice versa,” Robinson said. “It’ll be a great thing for me.”

The Dolphins hope it’ll be a great thing for them too and that his NFL production will match his athleticism.

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WATCH: Highlights of Dolphins first round draft pick Chop Robinson

Chop Robinson’s impressive highlight reel will get Dolphins fans excited about the team’s new pass rusher.

Miami Dolphins first-round pick Chop Robinson doesn’t exactly have first-round stats. While his measurables at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine jump off the page, his 9.5 sacks in two seasons at Penn State don’t scream star.

The three edge rushers taken before him — Laiatu Latu, Dallas Turner, and Jared Verse — all had at least nine sacks in 2023 alone. Latu had 13.

Fortunately for Dolphins fans hoping to get excited about Robinson, his highlights will probably do the trick. While he didn’t put up big sack numbers, Robinson racked up a ton of pressures during his time with the Nittany Lions.

According to PFF, Robinson was in the game for only 415 pass rushing snaps over his two seasons at Penn State and managed to generate a pressure (sack, hit, or hurry) on 74 of those snaps. That made him one of only a handful of pass rushers in the country to record a win rate above 20 percent in the last two seasons.

Here’s a look at what that relentless pressure looked like on Saturdays:

How new Dolphins EDGE Demeioun ‘Chop’ Robinson got his nickname

“Chop” might not be Demeioun Robinson’s legal name, but it’s what he’s been known by for his whole life.

“Chop” might not be Demeioun Robinson’s legal name, but it’s what he’s been known by for his whole life.

Before he was made the No. 21 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft by the Miami Dolphins, Robinson was 14 pounds at birth, and his mother gave him the nickname “porkchop” because of his size.

“I was heavy, I was huge,” Robinson said in an interview with the NFL. “I had no neck, no elbows, no knees. I had a whole bunch of fat on me.”

But over time, it was clear “porkchop” wasn’t going to last forever. As the new Dolphins pass rusher got older and slimmer, he figured it was time to change the nickname.

“I was like, I can’t have people calling me porkchop,” he said. “So I just took the pork out (and) kept the chop.”

Robinson chopped through offensive lines in college. He had 17.5 tackles for loss and and 9.5 sacks during his two-year career at Penn State and impressed during the pre-draft process.

He ran a 4.48-second 40-yard dash, a 1.54-second 10-yard split, a 4.25-second 20-yard shuttle, and he jumped 128 inches in the broad jump. All of those were top-two measurements among defensive ends at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine.

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Instant analysis of Dolphins’ No. 21 overall pick EDGE Chop Robinson

The Dolphins added a much needed piece to their pass rush by taking Chop Robinson.

The Miami Dolphins surprised some when they opted against picking an offensive lineman Thursday night and instead selected Penn State pass rusher Chop Robinson at No. 21 overall. It shouldn’t have come as a shock, though.

While the Dolphins have a stellar pair of pass rushers in Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips, that’s only an effective duo if they’re healthy.

Chubb went down with an ACL tear on New Year’s Eve and Phillips suffered an Achilles tear on Black Friday. While Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said he’s been impressed with the rehab efforts of both pass rushers, expecting either one to be the same player in 2024 may be overly optimistic.

An Achilles tear is especially devastating. Look no further than recently signed pass rusher Shaquil Barrett, who suffered that injury during the 2022 season. The two-time Pro Bowler returned to play 16 games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2023, but tallied only 4.5 sacks — a massive dropoff from the 37.5 sacks he recorded through his first three seasons.

The Dolphins can’t count on Phillips to be a double-digit sack artist in 2024 and it may a stretch to think Chubb will be his usual self too. And even if that duo defies the odds, Miami also parted with Emmanuel Ogbah to save cap space and lost a ton of its pass rushing production when Christian Wilkins and Andrew Van Ginkel exited in free agency.

It takes more than a couple pass rushers to impact a quarterback consistently and Robinson rounds out a pass rushing stable that was missing a piece.

While Robinson wasn’t a particularly productive player in college with 9.5 sacks over the last two seasons, he’s freakishly athletic and those stats may be a little deceiving. According to PFF, he racked up 74 quarterback pressures in only 415 pass rushing snaps over the last two seasons.

The Dolphins defense needed a fastball off the edge and they found one in Robinson.

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Penn State DE Chop Robinson drafted by Miami Dolphins with no. 21 overall pick in 2024 NFL draft

Penn State edge rusher Chop Robinson is heading to the AFC East as a first-round draft pick.

Penn State knew they had one first-round draft pick in the 2024 NFL draft. But now they have two.

Defensive end [autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag] was selected by the Miami Dolphins with the no. 21 overall pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft on Thursday evening. Robinson joined his former Penn State teammate Olu Fashanu as first-round draft picks.

Chop Robinson began his college career with the Maryland Terrapins, choosing his in-state program over offers from Penn State, Alabama, and Clemson. But after one season with the Terrapins, Robinson opted to enter the transfer portal and ended up at Penn State in time for the 2022 season. Robinson showed some good flashes in his first season with the Nittany Lions with appearances in 12 games with 26 tackles and 5.5 sacks. His totals actually dipped slightly in 2023 but he still proved to be among the edge rushers in the Big Ten and earned first-team All-Big Ten following the season.

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.

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