Cornerback Aaron Robinson Eyes Increased Role on Giants' Defense
The New York Giants wanted cornerback Aaron Robinson so much in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft that they raised a few eyebrows in how they went about getting him.
Instead of trading back to acquire the apple of their eye, as they had done in the first and second rounds, the Giants traded up five spots in the third round, from No. 76 to No. 71 (held by Denver) to snag Robinson, the 6-foot-1, 193-pound slot cornerback out of UCF, the trade also involving the No. 164 pick the tam had acquired during a Day 1 trade with the Chicago Bears.
In Robinson, the team landed their potential slot cornerback of the future. The young man who, after one season in Nick Saban's Alabama program, went on to star for UCF, and at the end of his college career, Robinson had allowed just 55.8 percent of the pass targets thrown against him to be completed and had given up six touchdowns. He also recorded three interceptions and 15 pass breakups for a 79.7 coverage rating.
Unfortunately for the Giants, they would have to wait several months before taking the wrapping off of Robinson. The young cornerback began training camp on the active/PUP list with a core muscle issue for which he had surgery.
At the end of training camp, Robinson landed on the inactive/PUP list, which meant he'd have to miss at least the first six weeks of the season.
Fortunately for all, his recovery and rehab went well to where the team could open the 21-day window on him to get him back on the field moving around. He was activated in time for the Giants' Week 8 game against the Kansas City Chiefs, against whom he played in nine defensive snaps.
Although Robinson was rusty and at times looked lost out there in his NFL debut, head coach Joe Judge said there has been a noticeable improvement in Robison's game.
"He got a lot better from Week 1 to Week 2," Judge said. "We saw a lot of improvement just technique-wise on the field. He looked good in practice in the one-on-one stuff. He’s going to keep on improving."
The Giants under Judge have proven they're not about fully redshirting any young rookie that misses large chunks of practice and playing time with an injury from which a recovery before the end of the season is feasible.
That's something they showed last year when safety Xavier McKinney broke his foot late in training camp and had to go on IR, missing his first ___ games.
All the while, the coaching staff kept McKinney engaged in the classroom stuff, giving him extra assignments to stay mentally sharp. When McKinney eventually returned to the field, he hit the ground running, and now in his second season, he's established himself as a core member of the Giants defense.
The team is hoping for the same from Robinson. His circumstances are a little different than those of McKinney's, in that Robinson didn't get on the field at all during his first Giants training camp, so that when he was able to get on the field, he didn't quite get off to as fast of a start as McKinney did.
Robinson's slow start didn't bother or discourage Judge.
"Your first snaps being on Monday night in Arrowhead, that’s not an easy situation for a rookie to step into and go ahead and just jump in," he said. "We understand on the front end that it’s not going to be perfect, and we have to make sure he understands that, look, we’re not going to accept it not being perfect.
"We’re going to coach you to get it right. However, we also understand where you’re at as a player in your career. It’s about your development and progression as a player."
Following the game against the Chiefs, Robinson got seven snaps on defense and has 16 on the year. Over his two games in which he's played 13 of his 16 snaps in the slot, he has just one tackle and has yet to be targeted in coverage.
He also has contributed six snaps on special teams, all on the punt coverage team.
So far, the Giants coaches like what they've seen of Robinson, so much so that they recently sent Sam Beal, the team's disappointing third-round pick in the 2018 supplemental draft, packing.
Judge, for his part, is looking to see Robinson get more and more involved each week and has been very encouraged by what the rookie has shown on the field since returning from the inactive/PUP list.
"I love the way this guy works," Judge said. "He’s very intelligent, he’s a good communicator, he’s very tough, but he comes out and he’s a very locked in and focused guy and he comes out and he works to get better every day. You’re going to see that continuously throughout his career."
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