The Chop Robinson Era Starts Now
Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Edge rushers are the defense’s wide receivers. They’re flashy, they’re often on an island against offensive linemen, and they’re even prone to celebration in the same way as their offensive counterparts. Generally speaking, anyway. That’s not how Chop Robinson goes about his work.
But, hey, he’s working on it.
“That’s just how I am. I’m just a next-play mentality type of guy,” Robinson says of his on-field demeanor. “But [Jaelan Phillips], he’s getting it out of me.”
“He doesn’t even celebrate,” says Phillips. “I’m trying to get him to be a little more emotive just because you could tell how that’s not enough for him. When he makes a big play, makes a [tackle for loss] or whatever, that’s kind of the standard.”
While the veteran teammate wants the first-round pick to savor those big plays on the field a bit more, it’s not a flaw. Those explosive moments seeming ordinary to Robinson is “an amazing thing,” Phillips marvels.
We’ll get to marvel over the routinely spectacular edge rusher soon. After being inactive in the first preseason game, Robinson will face off against the Washington Commanders on Saturday. Is he excited to get his first professional sack this weekend?
“No, it doesn’t count. It’s preseason,” he quipped, cracking up the locker room.
It might not count on his 2024 season stats, but after a long wait from May’s draft, we’re finally going to get to see Robinson in action. Technically, we’ll have to wait until 1pm on September 8 to see that official first sack, but if training camp has been any indication, we won’t have to wait much longer.
WOW… 1st round pick Chop Robinson continues to WRECK at #Dolphins camp, or you can very clearly see his elite speed & explosiveness.
Chop had the fastest 40 TIME EVER for edge & 10-yard split for anyone over 250 lbs, along with the longest broad jump 🤯
pic.twitter.com/4KpPlnGAdu— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) July 30, 2024
“Explosive” is a word that gets thrown around a lot of edge rushers. We need a new word for Robinson. He turns the line of scrimmage into a Michael Bay set. As stated in the above Tweet, Robinson posted the fastest 40-yard dash time from an edge-rushing prospect. In his sophomore and junior seasons at Penn State, he registered 9.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss in 22 games. They’re strong numbers, but in the hands of Mike McDaniel, Miami’s coaching staff, and strong veteran support, Robinson is being molded into a terrorizing NFL presence.
“He’s improving on things he’s done well in college. He’s improving on things that he’s never done before. All of those things are beneficial,” observed McDaniel on Wednesday. “All [the veterans] want is a first-round draft pick [to] come in and help towards the cause. And I think for Chop… he is really earning the respect of his teammates each and every day.”
But you don’t need to ask the coach that. His teammates are more than willing to pump Robinson’s tires, not just as a player, but as a great mentee.
“He’s listening, man,” says Emmanuel Ogbah, now in his fifth year on the Dolphins pass rush. “He’s asking the right questions. I’m happy to see him get better every day. He’s always working, he’s always asking for advice. The sky is the limit for him.”
Phillips isn’t far removed from being in Robinson’s shoes. As a rookie in 2021, the former first-rounder spent his first season playing in about half of the defensive snaps. He excelled, registering 8.5 sacks in his first year, going on to post 22.0 through 42 games. That’s an impressive total, and Phillips thinks Robinson is even better positioned to make an impact early in his career.
“When I see [Robinson] play, He’s super athletic, super explosive,” Phillips explains. “His get off, his aggression, his leverage, everything is better than I was when I was a rookie.”
So those sacks are going to happen, they’re going to count, and they’re going to count up quickly. With that kind of potential, Robinson might have to shed some of that “next-play” mentality and embrace the spotlight, at least a bit. He’ll give us something after a sack, right?
“The more I just get confident and making plays, more stuff will start to come out,” promises the top rookie.
If you believe Robinson (and allegedly, Phillips), don’t worry. His post-big-play performances are, like Robinson himself, a work-in-progress in name only. We’re expecting to be stunned by what Robinson can do between the whistles, and we’re being led to believe that what comes afterward will be equally spectacular.
“Once I showed [Phillips] my Chop celebration… in a meeting room,” says Robinson, giving us a tease of what’s to come. “[Phillips] was like, ‘When you get that sack, I better see that,” or he’s going to be mad. So when I get that sack, I’m definitely going to hit that celebration for him.” Phillips can’t wait, and neither can the fans.
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