The 2022 version of Allen Robinson is not the same Allen Robinson we have been accustomed to seeing throughout his nine-year playing career.
Heralded as a major free-agent signing for the then-defending Super Bowl champion Rams last offseason, Robinson was ruled out for the season at the end of November because of a stress fracture in his foot after just 10 games.
Robinson mustered 33 receptions for a career-low 10.3 yards per catch and three touchdowns before sustaining the injury. That's not the same Robinson who once led the NFL in receiving touchdowns, nor the same Robinson who has registered three seasons of 1,100 or more yards, including two over the past four years.
Robinson knows that, as well. As he begins a new chapter with the Steelers after being acquired via trade, Robinson is focused on getting back to who he knows he can be.
That is, Allen Robinson.
“For me, honestly, you know, the main thing has just been learning the offense and getting back to myself," he told me after Thursday's OTAs on the South Side. "That has preceded everything else. The transition and the move and things like that, I’ve had people help me with, so that hasn’t been too much of an issue. The main thing since the trade happened was I wanted to get back to Allen Robinson on the field. That was the most important thing before that. That preceded everything else. So, with that being my mindset and my focus I’ve been able to get the ball rolling and to be able to stack blocks and continue to be able to move forward through this process over the past month and a half or so, which is what I planned on doing. Now it’s just continuing to push things forward and moving this train forward, and I’m looking forward to training camp.”
A healthy Robinson is the perfectly prototypical possession receiver, especially as of late. He has caught at least 63% of his targets in each of the last four seasons, which is a significant improvement from the career-best 59.3% he had caught in his rookie season, a mark that stood as his personal best for five years. He had a down year with the Bears in 2021 before heading to the Rams, though in the two seasons prior, he was on the field for all 16 games and logged career-bests in receptions with 98 and 102 in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
(With Mitch Trubisky as his starting quarterback in those years in Chicago.)
Robinson brings some underrated value as a possession receiver, Diontae Johnson caught a career-low 58.5% of his targets last season, while George Pickens hauled in 61.9% in his rookie year. Pat Freiermuth was the Steelers' most efficient pass catcher with respect to high usage in 2022, as he caught 63 of his 98 targets, or 64.3%. Robinson dropped just two of his 51 targets last season, Johnson dropped eight of 141, Pickens dropped four of 84, and Freiermuth dropped two of 96.
"Thought for myself last season, before I got injured and things like that, I thought I was playing very well," Robinson said. "I thought my route-running ability was very crisp, I thought I was able to make plays, being a factor on third down, and different things like that. So it’s more of a movement things, and for me, it’s just about being crisp and being sharp and being able to get in and out of my transitions, being explosive, and different things like that.”
That final thought from Robinson was in response to my challenge of describing what a 100% Robinson brings to the field on a day-to-day basis. He posted those numbers for a poor Rams offense that struggled to gain footing, even before Matthew Stafford went down with a season-ending injury after nine games.
There's optimism for Robinson to be able to grasp what he is reaching for as a Steeler. He doesn't have to be the clear-cut No. 1 guy anymore, and there is the evolution of Kenny Pickett to expect to continue, meshing with an improved offensive line to help complete a gathering of talent to support the first-round quarterback.
Calvin Austin is another piece entering the fold this season after a foot injury kept him out all last year. Two adjectives he used to describe his new teammate: trustworthy and dependable.
“A-Rob from Day 1 has come in and taken a leadership role and you can tell he didn’t come in and just demand it," Austin said. "You can tell by how he talks about different coverages or a play or how we should be thinking on the field or our mindsets, you’re just like, ‘this guy’s got it together. He has his head straight.’ Seeing how he’s working on the field -- he’s coming back from the injury and stuff -- but to see how he’s extremely detailed and he spends so much extra time learning the playbook. He’s already got it down and you can tell how he has been so successful in the league for as long as he has. That’s somebody you want to model yourself after just so you can have longterm success like he has.”
Robinson took his offseason to plan on how to get back to his old self.
"It’s tough to figure out the things that you need and to figure out the things that you need to really hone in on and fine-tune until you get out there with the defense," Robinson said. "Over the past couple weeks, the last four to five practices, just being able to get out there with the defense, being able to assess myself, that’s kind of where I’ve found that base line so I can have a plan going into the offseason with the things that I want to get accomplished, and I feel real good about that.”
And, now, with OTAs wrapped up, Robinson has began a Phase Two of sorts in his offseason plan.
“I didn’t have a certain expectation or goals," he said. "My thing was just to get back to full health as fast as I can or different things like that so once I kind of reached that to be able to get on the field, I was able to be happy to hit that benchmark. But, now it’s getting back to myself. It’s getting in and out of breaks how I’m used to, how I’m accustomed to, being able to do the things that I do and feel great about that. So right now I feel all right with the progress that I’ve made, but I understand it’s still a lot of work that I have to put in going into this summer, and I’m looking forward to it. I think the biggest thing for me is knowing what that is, having a plan to attack that. I’m looking forward to it.”
