UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The eye test and stats showed that Chop Robinson had a good season in 2022, but a closer look at everything reveals just how good of a season it was for the edge rusher.
Depending on how much stock people want to put into the Pro Football Focus metrics -- and believe me, that outfit's rankings often need to be questioned -- it can be argued that Robinson was one of the top defensive players in the country last season.
According to Pro Football Focus, these were Robinson's national rankings among edge rushers:
• Overall grade: 1st (91.6)
• Pass rush grade: 1st (92.4)
• QB pressures: 6th (16)
Now, even if you watched every Penn State game closely and love Robinson as a player, I'm guessing you would have had a hard time concluding that he was essentially the premier edge rusher in the country -- at least according to the PFF metrics.
He was only an honorable mention all-Big Ten player for the media and coaches. And, to prove once again that Pro Football Focus can be about as wacky as it gets, they only named him second-team all-Big Ten, despite reportedly having the best overall grade in the country at his position.
Oh, and despite being the No. 1 rated edge last year, Robinson is rated the No. 3 returning edge in the country this season. That's per Pro Football Focus, which again puts itself in position to be poked fun at with that type of inconsistent analysis.
OK, OK, you see where I'm going with this.
Robinson is good. Really good. And has a chance to be even better this season.
But sometimes, trying to determine just how good a player truly is comes down to a whole bunch of varying criteria.
Robinson had 5 1/2 sacks, 10 tackles for loss and 26 tackles for the Lions last year. Those stats were solid, but not otherwordly, like one may assume given his lofty Pro Football Focus rankings.
There's no doubt the Maryland transfer was a very disruptive player his first season at Penn State, and in all honesty, that's really what matters most here.
He was so disruptive, has such impressive physical skills and projects so well that Robinson has emerged as a potential first-round NFL draft pick next year. As of now, he's borderline late first to early second round, according to NFL Mock Draft Database.
What can Robinson do this year to maintain -- or improve -- his draft stock?
"I’ll pull a few more tricks out of my bag," he said recently.
Robinson was speaking about the weight he's put on heading into his junior season. The 6-foot-3 end said he weighed 240 when he came to Penn State from Maryland, but now he's up to 255.
"I feel way faster, stronger and bigger than I was when I first got here," he said.
Robinson has great speed off the edge, and great quickness overall. He was timed at 4.47 seconds in the 40-yard dash this spring, which is extremely impressive for an edge rusher and one reason why his draft stock is so high.
But, as Robinson pointed out, speed alone isn't enough for an edge.
"When you’re rushing the passer, you can’t always use a speed move," he said. "You’ve got to use a bull rush sometimes. And if you’re not up in that weight, that bull rush move isn’t going to work."
Robinson also discussed how he's been focused on accuracy with his hands during the rush.
He was asked about his draft projection, and like many players, Robinson dismissed it.
"A lot of people bring it up to me, but I just brush it off," he said.
He also was asked how much thought he's given to this being his final season at Penn State, which it almost certainly will be as long as he has a good year and maintains his draft stock.
"It’s something to be determined," Robinson said. "However this season goes, I’ll make that decision. But right now my focus is summer workouts."
