New York Giants Draft Preview: Edge Chop Robinson

Robinson is expected to be among the first edge rushers off the board in this year's draft.

Author:
Nick Falato
Publish date:
Apr 07, 2024

In this story:

Chop Robinson

New York Giants

Penn State

NFL Draft

Chop Robinson, EDGE

Height: 6’3
Weight: 254 lbs
Hands: 9 ⅛”
Arms: 32 ½”
Wingspan: 76 ¼”
Class: Junior
School: Texas
STATS

MEASUREMENTS

40-yard dash: 4.48
10-yard split: 1.54
Vertical Jump: 34.5”
Broad Jump: 10’8”
20-yard shuttle: 4.25

A former five-star recruit out of Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg, Maryland, where he was the first overall Maryland recruit, the second EDGE, and the 22nd national recruit in the 2021 cycle. Robinson initially attended Maryland for one season before transferring to Penn State for his final two collegiate seasons. Robinson broke the career sack record at Quince Orchard High School.

Demeioun “Chop” Robinson was First-team All-Big Ten in 2023. He finished the season with just 26 pressures on 148 pass-rushing reps in 2023, but he had 87 pressures through 497 pass-rushing reps in college. According to Pro Football Focus, Robinson was the fourth-highest-graded pass rusher, with a 20.9% pass rush win rate (13th highest in college football).

Robinson suffered an undisclosed injury after a helmet-to-helmet collision against Ohio State (Week 8). The collision resulted in the cart, and the injury was scary. Robinson dressed for the Maryland game but did not play; he returned to the field in Week 11 vs. Michigan. He finished the season strong with seven pressures through three games, with a sack and three QB hits. Robinson attended the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine.

Strengths

* Electric overall athlete on the EDGE
* INSANE get-off and burst - one of the more sudden players in the draft
* Rare short-area quickness to quickly close width and finish with violence
* Explosive - low - twitchy pass rusher
* Burst off lateral agility - dangerous when tying up OT’s feet in pass set
* Can keep low profile when moving laterally - active hands
* Quickly made jump-setting OT pay
--Michigan Q1 14:22; Q1 8:54
--Michigan State Q3 3:53
--Rutgers Q3 1:25
* Swivel like upper-body
* Body pivots around his spin with low and controlled center of gravity
* Excellent control to keep hips oriented toward a target with the upper body flexibility to avoid punches from OL
* Steps well outside of his frame when rushing to present difficult angles for OL
* Insane ability to flatten at the top of the pass-rushing arc
* Flashed beautiful footwork up pass rushing arc - very difficult player to block when low
* Dips underneath OT punches from wide angle and when tight
* Rare control and balance with incredible stress on his ankle joints
* Quick and efficient double-swipe to rip combination
* Evasive chest - difficult to frame in a phone booth
* WIDE-9 rusher: hands at the point of contact - flattens angles well
* Low, explosive nature gives him a solid bull-rush
* Can convert speed to power - isn’t just a finesse/speed rusher
* 1-Gap penetrating run defender
* Gets low and skinny through gaps - solid ability to work through trash vs. run
* Strong hands to violently pull OL to the deck - OL must stay low against him when locked out
* Best of luck to tight ends attempting to block down when he slants inside
* Impressive bend and ability to stay low around pulling OL - avoids contact upfield and can bend around to make a tackle (this can be protected by the scheme to avoid having him as kick-out)
* Functional kick out contain defender on edge due to lower-body strength/center of gravity
* Athletic enough to drop into coverage and operate in space (91 coverage snaps in his career)
* Versatile enough to operate as a simulated pressure dropper
* Very hot motor
* Just turned 21 years old

[View more draft prospect scouting profiles.]

Weaknesses

* Short arms and lack of length are an issue
* 12th percentile arm length - 5th percentile wingspan
* Just an adequate run defender when tasked to read
* Tossed on the ground in run game
--Michigan Q1 10:23
--Michigan Q2 00:51
--Rutgers Q2 11:36
--Illinois Q1 12:54
* Can be better with his eyes as a run-defender
* Technique to set the edge needs to be refined
* While he flashes dangerous ability as a pass rusher, it’s not yet consistent
* Uses hands well at the top of the arc to finalize the win, but lacked a consistent counter move when OL matched his speed
* Needs more weapons to his counter-rush plan
* Sub-optimal production for his pass-rushing traits (only 11.5 career sacks)
* Still raw as an overall player but with tantalizing physical traits
* Suffered scary injury in 2024 that resulted in the cart - returned a few weeks later

Summary

Chop Robinson is a twitchy pass rusher with rare sudden burst and a rare ability to tightly bend the edge while keeping his chest small to avoid clean punches from OTs when he is rushing high side. His 10-yard split was in the 97th percentile for EDGE rushers, to no one’s surprise. Robinson puts immense weight on his ankle joints while still maintaining momentum and balance, as he tightly corners around OL with an impressive ability to bend underneath contact and use his hands to enhance his leverage as a high-side rusher.

Robinson’s current calling card is to rush high side - using his insane athletic traits - to put stress on opposing OTs. It’s not a surprise that the Giants are interested in Robinson, who is tailor made for Shane Bowen’s defense that features a ton of WIDE-9 rushes on passing downs. Robinson is a NIGHTMARE to block from a wide angle; a combination of Robinson and Brian Burns would be a dangerous duo for opposing OTs against the pass. Bowen uses a lot of simulated pressure that drops EDGEs into coverage - Robinson does this well with a solid overall grasp in shallow zones.

However, Robinson is still raw as a player. His ability to stay low and slant around blockers, using his agility and short-area quickness to disrupt rushing lanes, is an asset. Still, his ability to stack and read is hindered by only average play strength and eyes that are also hurt due to poor length. Robinson is also not quite polished as a pass rusher. He flashes brilliant footwork when rushing high side, with some speed to power plays, but he fails to have a consistent counter punch when OTs respond well to his first move.

I get the appeal of Robinson, especially at his age. The concerns about his inability to consistently play the run at the NFL level aren’t unfair, but there are just a few players with his type of pass-rushing upside and lightning quickness. The NFL is predicated on pressuring the quarterback, and there are few pass rushers in the draft with his type of elite bend and quickness. His ceiling is very high, but his floor could be a short-armed situational pass rusher who needs to develop more moves.

GRADE: 6.5B