Chop Robinson scouting report: Exploring the Penn State edge defender’s strengths and weaknesses

Chop Robinson, who was ranked as the fourth-best defensive end in the 2021 recruiting class, made an impact in his first year at Maryland. Despite only starting one game, he played in all 12 and tallied 2.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. He then transferred to Penn State within the same conference, where he continued to excel with 10 TFLs and 5.5 sacks in his first season.

Despite a slight decrease in his numbers compared to the previous season, Chop Robinson was still able to earn recognition as a first-team All-Big Ten selection, recording 15 tackles, 7.5 TFLs, four sacks, two forced fumbles, and one recovered fumble in 10 games.

Physical Description: Standing at 6-foot-3 and weighing 250 pounds, this individual is a junior.

Analyzing Chop Robinson’s strengths and weaknesses

Defending the Run:

• Has the strength in his triceps to lock out and win the leverage battle on the front-side of run concepts
• Is able to creation flexion in his lower body and get underneath blockers in order to not get ridden or washed down when they are able to create initial momentum
• Shows the ability to reduce the shoulder against angular blockers, step under and around combo-blocks near the point of attack, routinely being able to dup under and force blockers to grab
• You can’t ask tight-ends to cave him in or seal him off on the backside, but Chop will crash through the C-gap and ruin plays in a hurry
• With his speed and flexion in his ankles, Chop can flatten down the line and chase down plays from the backside or bend around pullers to get a hand on the ball-carrier
• Only missed one (of 14 attempted) tackle(s) last season thanks to how he meets ball-carriers with square pads and the long arms to extend his radius
• Led all Power Five edge defenders in overall grade (90.6) and pass-rushing grade (92.4) in 2022, which he actually slightly improved those numbers along with a more than respectable 76.3 mark in run defense
• Was peeled off the edge quite regularly and would push targets in his path off track, as well as crowd underneath passing windows

Defensive Pressure:

• Instantly threatens offensive tackles in their pass sets with his get-off and rushes super low
• Twitched-up pass-rusher who can give blockers a lot of trouble trying to mirror him, including the leverage and leg-drive to ride guys backwards if they get too tall in their sets or use wide arms
• Effectively bends his rushes combined with chop-rips and double-hand side swipes, where if tight-ends are assigned to block him (off play-action), those guys typically have no shot of taking him off track
• Snatches and lifts the outside hand of tackles in order to create a softer angle for himself a few times
• Lands some wicked up-and-under moves paired with the high swim
• Working from the three-technique for some longer downs, that ability to stay low and get around guards created major issues
• Possesses the triceps strength to push off and extend the inside arm through the chest of blockers, in order to open up the inside lane, along with also freeing himself quite regularly by pulling the inside arm over and that foot through
• Shows some crazy ankle flexibility where he’s a little past the quarterback and is able pivot back around to run that guy down from behind
• Recorded 48 pressures across 267 pass-rush snaps in 2022 and 26 on 148 opportunities last season – pass-rush grades from PFF of 92.3 and 92.4, respectively

Areas for Improvement:

• Needs to do a better job of not getting his body turned in the run game and setting a firm edge against tight-ends
• Both in the run and pass game, his upper and lower body don’t always seem to be in sync, limiting his effectiveness at the moment of first interaction with blockers
• When Chop Robinson tries to jump inside of tackles and is cut off, he doesn’t really have a secondary approach to still win those reps
• Doesn’t yet string together moves in a comprehensive fashion or reads pass-sets particularly well
• Only has 32.5-inch arms and that lack of length certainly showed up in the 2022 Ohio State game against that great duo of OTs, who were largely able to neutralize him

Top Prospect: Chop Robinson for the 2024 NFL Draft

For the past few years, Chop Robinson has been recognized as a highly skilled and athletic edge defender. He was even ranked at the top of Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List before the 2023 season, and his performance at the combine only solidified his reputation. Despite weighing 254 pounds, he ran a 4.48 and achieved a 10’8″broad jump, surpassing all other defensive linemen.

Despite playing at a weight that was 10 pounds less, I still have faith that he performed well on the field. However, his sack production over the past two years (9.5 combined) did not quite meet the high expectations.

Chop Robinson should focus on developing his physique in a sustainable manner, and he also has potential for improvement in his approach to formulating rush plans and reacting to offensive tackles.

I am aware of the attraction that someone with his explosive speed and skill at cleanly beating defenders around the edge can have, especially when he utilizes hand-swipes. I also acknowledge his high level of effort on the field. However, I do not anticipate him making a significant impact early in his career.

If Chop Robinson can maintain the weight he tested at in Indy and his future coaches can help him reach his full potential, I believe he has the potential to become a valuable three-down starter by his second year. However, I do believe there is a noticeable decrease in talent compared to the top three prospects, making Robinson a more suitable target towards the end of the first round.

Rank: Towards the end of the first round