Overview
Position: Defensive Tackle/Defensive End
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 307 pounds
School: Alabama Crimson Tide
A’Shawn Robinson 2016 NFL Draft Profile
Alabama has had seven straight years with a player going in the first round of the NFL draft. A’Shawn Robinson figures to make it eight consecutive years. Robinson was a five star recruit out of Fort Worth, Texas and fit right into Nick Saban’s deep stable of talented defensive linemen. He played in 13 games his freshman year and started two of them. By his sophomore season, his versatility season was showing and Saban was using him on the outside as a defensive end and on the inside as a nose tackle. Robinson even had 9 tackles against Missouri in the SEC title game and was All SEC Honorable Mention. In his finals season in Tuscaloosa, his junior year, he had 46 tackles and three-and-a-half sacks, while starting all 15 games for the national champion Tide. He ran a 5.2 40 yard dash at the NFL combine and had 22 reps on the bench press at 225 pounds. His draft status though is not going to be based on statistics. It’s going to be based on-the-field skills.
Strengths
- Powerful legs
- Compact strength
- Eats up two blocks without getting moved back
- Wraps up on tackles
- Physically mature
- Good run defender
Weaknesses
- Plays upright too often, thus negating his leverage
- Only played 57% of Bama’s defensive snaps the last two seasons
- Needs to improve his balance
- Average pass rush
NFL Comparison: Michael Brockers, Los Angeles Rams
Teams with Need at Position: Cleveland Browns, San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills, Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs
Projection: Last 1st round
Bottom Line
Robinson’s quality is not going to be seen strictly in his stats, which are pretty pedestrian for a player with his physical skills. When the scouts watch game film of Alabama’s season, they will see that Robinson often occupied two blockers, thus freeing up space for the Tide’s playmaking linebackers. He does need work on his technical skills but he has the tools to build from. At Alabama, he mostly played in a 3-4 defense, so he in a typical pro set, he will bring the flexibility to play on the end as well as the strength to play on the inside. He is a high probability pick, but as we have said in previous profiles, this is a draft deep in talent on both sides of the line. Cleveland, San Diego and Dallas all need defensive line help, but they all have top five picks and that is too high to go with Robinson. The more likely options are at the bottom half of the first round with Washington at #21, or even more so, Seattle at #26. The Seahawks are likely to lose at least one defensive tackle to free agency.
Main Photo Credit:
Main Photo Caption: INDIANAPOLIS, IN – FEBRUARY 28: Defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson of Alabama in action during the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 28, 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
