Why Robinson Is Such a Nightmare for Opposing Teams

Former Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Terron Armstead continued his stint on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football on Wednesday, and he continued to praise current Dolphins players heading into the season.

After discussing quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Armstead pivoted to the defensive side of the ball, naming second-year edge rusher Chop Robinson as his fourth “nightmare pass rusher.”

“Chop is Von Miller-esque, Von Miller-like. Von Miller-ism.” Armstead said. “He started off the year slow, really slow. The second half of the season, Chop was arguably the best pass rusher in the league. His get-off is elite. His ability to bend is elite. He is learning more about the game. He is more cerebral.

"He’s coming out of the gate this year blazing. You get Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips out there with him, so they can take some of the attention off of him. He can get more one-on-one opportunities, so I can see him leading the league in sacks, maybe not this year.”

.@T_Armstead72 breaks down his Top 5 Nightmare Pass Rushers ☠️ pic.twitter.com/wGsGck5ySW
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) June 25, 2025

Robinson having a breakout second season isn’t a new idea, and given that Armstead got an up-close look at Chop last season, his opinion does carry a little more weight.

Robinson coming in at number 4 on Armstead’s rankings is also interesting because he had Los Angeles Rams pass rusher Jared Verse ranked fifth. During a recent interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Armstead said Verse is the top player he’s glad he doesn’t have to block anymore.

"No. 1, he was a rookie from the Rams. That young boy, Jared Verse? I'm cool. I'm good. I never gotta see that man again," Armstead said. "I'm OK with never seeing that young man again in my life. Bull rush different. Dawg, it's different. You know that it's coming. You brace yourself. He's different. Jared Verse is different. He will be a Defensive Player of the Year one of these days. Mark my words."

Obviously, the criteria of Armstead’s lists are different, but it does seem a little noteworthy that he put Robinson ahead of Verse on Good Morning Football.

What Makes Chop Such a Nightmare?

Like Armstead comparing Tua to Drew Brees, comparing Chop to Von Miller is pretty lofty. However, like the Brees comp, there are some play style similarities between Miller and Robinson.

Miller has made a career of using his first-step speed and bend to overwhelm opposing tackles. In his prime, few tackles could beat Miller off the line consistently, and his ability to bend at the top of his rush gave him an easy path to the quarterback.

If you watch a lot of Chop’s most impressive plays, they have a similar feel. His speed off the line is elite, and it’s incredibly difficult for even above-average athletes at tackle to match Robinson in that area.

And when he’s facing below-average athletes, you get reps like this one against the Patriots from last season.

Threading some of Chop Robinson’s best reps from this week, starting with this beauty: pic.twitter.com/ceZ9xaXEMu
— Dante Collinelli (@DanteCollinelli) November 25, 2024

That Week 12 game is what started Robinson’s second-half improvement that Armstead mentioned.

Robinson had just 11 quarterback pressures during the first eight weeks last season, but he turned the corner in the season’s second half. From Week 9 on, Robinson posted 45 quarterback pressures, including 10 in the Dolphins’ Week 12 win against the Patriots.

The young pass rusher also recorded all six of his sacks from last season during that stretch.

Now, what allowed Miller to become a future Hall of Famer is that he combined his elite natural ability with excellent technique. As a second-year player, Robinson has quite a long way to go in that area.

But even if he gets half as good as Miller at executing a pass-rush plan, that’s still an elite pass rusher, who, as Armstead mentioned, is capable of leading the league in sacks.

A lot would have to go right for Robinson to get to that point, and it would be foolish to crown him after just one season. Still, the Dolphins defense doesn’t have many solid, young, high-upside players.

Robinson has the natural ability to be a core part of the Dolphins’ future and will pose a problem for any offensive tackle, regardless of his pass-rush plan — that’s what makes him such a nightmare to deal with.

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