Cleveland Browns Comprehensive NFL Draft Review: Dorian Thompson-Robinson, QB UCLA

The Cleveland Browns selected Dorian Thompson Robinson, quarterback out of UCLA in the fifth round. He needs continued development in some key areas, but he has a ton of talent and may be in the perfect situation to improve.

The Cleveland Browns used the first of their two fifth round picks on UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson. He was high school teammates at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, Nevada with the Browns third-round pick, Cedric Tillman.

Robinson appeared in 50 games at UCLA, starting 40. He set multiple school records including for total yardage (12,536), passing yardage (10,710), completions (860), touchdown passes (88), and total touchdowns (116).

Athletic Profile

DTR's height and weight aren't ideal. With the amount of quarterbacks entering the league much shorter than he is, it tends to get overlooked, but he is short by quarterback standards. He's got a sleek build and is on the lighter side at the position.

Athletically, his speed is excellent. In terms of pocket movement, his 10-yard split and his shuttle time really shine. 

DTR's hands aren't ideal, but it's yet to be an issue. He also hit 62 miles per hour on the gun at the NFL Scouting Combine, which was among the best in the class.

Robinson will be 24 in November. He clears any bars that would be a reason for concern with his age.

Production

Passing

2022 (Best Season)

Completion Percentage: 69.6 (266 of 382)

Adjusted Completion Percentage: 77.4 percent (5.3 percent drop rate per PFF)

Yards per Game: 243.8 (3,169 total yards)

Yards per Attempt: 8.3

TD/INT Ratio: 27/10

Thompson had a pretty efficient year, capping off several years of continued improvement.

Jim Cobern @Jimetrics

Rushing

2022 (Best Season)

Yards per Carry: 5.47 (118 carries, 645 yards)

Touchdowns: 12

DTR is a dual threat and the Bruins used him on plenty of designed runs in addition to the times he opted to pull the ball down and run it on passes. He averaged 49.5 rushing yards per game.

Combined with his passing, Thompson averaged 293.3 yards and three touchdowns per game.

Jim Metrics @Jimetrics

Game Tape

Dorian Thompson-Robinson's throwing motion has improved over the course of his career at UCLA. He had a long looping throwing motion where he had the ball down his waist. There's clearly been effort into shortening it and while there are times when he will still drop the ball by his belt, it's not a slow motion.

The improvement he made was to shorten how far he steps when he throws. Robinson would put all of himself into so many of his throws including a long stride that slowed him down a little bit. He threw more like a pitcher at times. This past year, his motion is tighter, more efficient.

DTR has easy arm strength. He can generate a power and velocity rolling out or even moving backwards between his shoulder and the torque he's able to generate with his core.

On throws where he can operate in rhythm and just whip it and put it on a target, Thompson is deadly. Hitches, comebacks, crossing routes, he can throw through windows and has enough velocity that makes it difficult for opponents to make an impact. DTR has done a lot of damage in the middle of the field and enabled receivers to create yardage after the catch. It's also true that the offense schemed open a number of throws for Robinson.

This past season, DTR improved on catch and throw type passes. In 2021, he had a difficult time getting the ball cleanly as he was turning to throw now passes and ended up being erratic. This past year, he improved significantly.

The area that still gives him trouble is down field. DTR doesn't consistently display great touch and doesn't always choose the right throw for the situation. It doesn't often allow receivers to adjust and make a play on the ball. As a result, if DTR isn't nearly perfect on his end, the ball falls incomplete. So when he's right, it looks spectacular, but he's missed quite a few wide open layups.

DTR can be electric electric navigating the pocket. He's so explosive in his initial movement, he can leave opposing pass rushers grabbing at air and give plays a new life. He keeps his eyes down field and has been effective at finding receivers when he breaks the pocket.

When DTR wants to break the pocket and run, he's dangerous. He's fast, confident and fearless. DTR is competitive and is not afraid of contact, so he is aggressive as a runner. He can make opponents miss and will fight for yards through contact. DTR has even hurdled defenders. They have him power forward on quarterback sneaks in short yardage situations.

With some of the read concepts they utilize, he will also throw his body around as a blocker. It gets him fired up. His teammates love it and respond to it because he will do anything to win.

When DTR feels pressure, it becomes too much of a roll of the dice. DTR is supremely confident in his ability and always believes he can keep the play alive. That also leads to him taking some sacks he shouldn't. He also can rip the heart out an opponent who think they have him cornered for a sack only to have him escape the pocket and run for 20 yards. To DTR's credit, he will throw the ball away at times and move onto to the next play, but that usually happens only if he diagnoses the play is dead early.

Additionally, DTR can be great when he extends plays and has made some big time throws. Unfortunately, he also has his share of poor decisions and plays he'd like to have back. Both are usually going for big plays. He made some strides in his final season making the right play under duress. Finding a receiver who found the soft spot in the zone that extends the drive for example. It still has a way to go, but that was encouraging.

Overall, DTR reads the field well in Chip Kelly's offense. Most of his mistakes are due to timing rather than just simply misreading the defense. For example, he sees a receiver crossing the field and expects him to clear the defense, but he lets it go a little early. Like everyone else, he occasionally diagnoses a defense and gets it wrong. It's also notable that two interceptions just in the bowl game against Pitt were off the hands of his receivers.

DTR doesn't dwell on mistakes. UCLA has played in a number of tight games, so Robinson has gotten plenty of experience operating in high pressure situations like late game drives.

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Fit, Usage and Projection

Dorian Thompson-Robinson was drafted to be Deshaun Watson's backup. He can benefit from having Joshua Dobbs in the quarterback room this season. Dobbs can operate as a sounding board and extra set of eyes for Watson on gamedays while also helping DTR understand what it takes to be a professional quarterback.

If Robinson develops, he could end up being traded near the end of his rookie deal.

Robinson's experience in Chip Kelly's offense should be valuable with the Browns. Bill Musgrave, who was hired as a senior offensive assistant, coached with Kelly when he was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. Musgrave most recently was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Cal and competed against Robinson. Cal operated a spread offensive system and utilized some of the same concepts Kelly does in his offense.

DTR has plenty of experience in shotgun as well as under center, which sets him apart from Watson. It gives the Browns options on how they want to utilize him in the event he needs to enter a game.

Robinson's effectiveness as a runner could prove a great fit. He can punish teams that want to turn their back to him and play man coverage, especially because he likes to get down hill immediately. He should be good for multiple first downs per game and is a threat to score near the end zone. Hopefully he embraces protecting his body and avoiding hits while taking the profit.

Given that Robinson is already working on tightening up his throwing motion, it will be interesting if the Browns decide to tweak it any further. He seems to be on the right track, so it's probably best to simply leave it alone.

More than anything, the key for Robinson will be continuing to try to develop better touch, add throws to his bag and improve his consistency in choosing the right throw for the situation. That could further open up his game in the intermediate levels of the field, but dramatically improve his effectiveness down the field.

Based on historical data, Dorian Thompson-Robinson has a multiple Pro Bowl ceiling. Whether he can reach that is to be determined, but situation is such a critical factor for quarterbacks and should the current structure of the Cleveland Browns remain in place, it's difficult for Robinson to find himself in a better one even if he will eventually need to go to another team to become the starter.