Alton Robinson Flashing Best Trait in LEO Role for Seahawks
When the Seahawks took Syracuse Defensive End Alton Robinson in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, they snagged themselves one of the best value picks of the entire event. Yes, Robinson was a day three pick for a reason, with negative off-the-field history and a raw skillset. However, both the 22-year old’s floor and ceiling as a prospect was exciting - especially when added so late in the draft.
Pass rush is a desperate and obvious need for Seattle even with their 2020 NFL campaign underway. We have already seen improved activity as chemistry, rotation, and understanding has developed. What Robinson was consistently dominant with in college was his ability on the backside of running plays though. Teams could not afford to leave him unblocked.
Playing for the Orange, Robinson grew experienced in a four-down defensive system that used similar concepts to Seattle’s run fits for the wide defensive end role. Brian Ward, the defensive coordinator for most of Robinson’s college career, ran a 4-3 and Tampa 2-influenced scheme with similar foundations to what drives a lot of Seahawks concepts.
Robinson’s hard-charging, up-field path was nice to see from this. But he also experienced the pressure package stuff of dropping into zone coverage as a hot defender or peeling with a back. Most importantly, his constriction of edges with runs away from wide alignments plus his experience stunting inside on things like “Pirate” ensured he could contribute on all three downs. He played runs just how Carroll likes, reading a variety of blocks. He was even able to work just one man on double teams towards him and play one-and-a-half gaps in certain situations.
A quarter of the way through the 2020 season, it’s therefore no surprise that Robinson’s best trait from college has already popped while wearing Seattle blue: he is punishing offenses which decide to leave him unblocked. The Seahawks’ main rookie plan for the LEO defensive end role was second-round pick Darrell Taylor, but he is still on the Non-Football Injury list. The flex-side, wide-rushing, away-from-the-tight end newcomer role has therefore been taken by Robinson.
In a season heavily affected by COVID-19, caution regarding rookies has been exercised throughout the league with Seattle being no exception. Robinson, though, has enjoyed action in the last two games. He played 37 percent of the defensive snaps against the Cowboys and took 38 percent of these reps at the Dolphins.
The Miami game threatened to become closer than it should have, with offensive execution issues creating missed scoring opportunities. That gave Robinson’s 3rd and 3 tackle for loss huge gravitas. With 9:18 left in the fourth quarter, the Seahawks led by a measly five points and the Dolphins were on the 9-yard line.
Miami decided to leave Robinson unblocked as the wide end, counting on him not being able to make the play. The Seahawks’ under front required Robinson to be aggressive in scraping to stay sound facing the run. The Dolphins’ decision to not block Robinson was punished, as the rookie’s quickness and optimal path thundered down the line of scrimmage for a loss of two yards. Miami settled for a field goal and Seattle stayed ahead.
Early into his professional career, Robinson has already experienced a variety of NFL fronts. While his tackle for loss down in Florida came from a more familiar under-end alignment, Seattle’s inclusion of bear-esque fronts - stick and falcon - has seen Robinson deployed as a Wide 9 in these defenses too.
The Cowboys really struggled with Robinson aligned in these families. On a first quarter run play, Seattle was in stick (9-3-0-3-9) with man coverage behind it. Dallas’ outside zone left Robinson unblocked. Perhaps the Cowboys felt the jet motion in the other direction would hold Robinson?
Instead, the rookie defensive end scraped hard down the line after eliminating each threat towards him - jet and bootleg. On the frontside of the run, L.J. Collier at 3-technique did great to rip through with depth in his B-Gap, bullying left guard Connor Williams backwards. This forced Ezekiel Elliott to spin back inside, where the hustling Robinson finished the tackle.
Later in the quarter with 4:15 remaining, Dallas decided not to block Robinson again. Seattle was in its falcon front (the nickel version of stick) and the Cowboys, on paper, had a decent running play to attack the 9-3-0-3-9 look: guard/tackle counter. This is the classic spread beater for these fronts.
At head-up nose tackle, Bryan Mone was superb in attacking the down-block of the left guard Williams and disrupting this into the backfield. This action contacted the pull of right tackle Terence Steele and prevented Seattle from being outnumbered at the point of attack.
The Seahawks still required backside hustle to make the play though. Robinson provided this, reacting to his tackle disappearing by scraping down to the back. Notice how the rookie first tried to get hands on the second pull too. He eventually helped Bobby Wagner make the stop to bring up 3rd and 4.
With Robinson being so active when unblocked, it made sense for Dallas to try and attack this. That’s what their second quarter reverse play attempted to do. However, Robinson was patient enough on the backside of the zone-away action to be in a position to stop the play. More importantly, he took an excellent angle up-field that enabled him to stop the bootleg but also end-arounds or reverses.
Robinson’s discipline wasn’t rewarded with a tackle for loss, but the penetration proved disruptive enough for others to join the party and net a negative play. Something Robinson still needs to work on is his ability to break down for tackles in space - it was an issue in college too.
Obviously, run defense isn’t the most glitzy aspect of defensive end play. Furthermore, everyone knows that Seattle needs pass rushing ability. Robinson’s first step and explosion in college was super exciting when combined with his ability to dip and bend around edges. In 2018, he was a second-team All-ACC selection and logged a 17 percent pressure percentage according to Sports Info Solution. This dipped to 13 percent in 2019 and Robinson’s dip in production in his senior season was concerning.
A lot of the issues were based around not having a sufficient counter move. There were attempts at long arms but these suffered from inconsistent aiming points. But Robinson is also hindered by being short-armed: 32 3/8 inches is just 16th percentile among defensive linemen. Robinson experienced difficulties when college tackles were kick-sliding or handling him in tighter confines. It should be pointed out that his supporting cast was diminished in 2019 too.
What was encouraging in 2019 is that Robinson appeared to have some semblance of a pass rush plan, although it was very raw. That progress has continued in to the pros and shows Robinson is conscious of his long-term development. As an NFL player, we have seen his flexibility, supple shoulders, and better conversion to power rushing when required.
Robinson’s sack in a big moment versus the Cowboys was a one-on-one for him, with the pass protection sliding away for games and pressure expected from Seattle’s Even Up front. Still, it was nice to see Robinson beat a deep-setting tackle with an inside move on what was essentially a two-way go for him.
The weight Robinson added in the offseason looks good on him and is a possible solution to his short arms. Asides from lacking the desired length for his role, Robinson tested brilliantly and his athleticism is visible on tape - especially his ability to re-direct at speed. (His 4.32 second short shuttle was 84th percentile.)
More pass rush opportunities will come for the rookie. The fact that Robinson’s playing all three downs for Seattle and over a third of the defensive snaps is an encouraging early sign for the day three pick. The Seahawks run defense has benefited the most so far, with Robinson’s obvious ability on backside runs apparent.
