Every year, NFL teams bank on potential upside. In the 2024 NFL Draft cycle, many will be enthralled by the upside that the scouting report of Missouri EDGE Darius Robinson boasts. He has an incredibly high ceiling, but what is his path to reaching that ceiling?
Darius Robinson Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’5″
- Weight: 291 pounds
- Position: Edge Rusher
- School: Missouri
- Current Year: Redshirt Senior
It was a long, five-year journey for Darius Robinson, but he finally emerged as a true game-changing threat for the Missouri defense in 2023.
Robinson first joined the Tigers as a defensive line recruit in 2019, and for three seasons, he was mere depth on the interior. In 2022, he saw more reps, alongside EDGE Isaiah McGuire, logging 3.5 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss, but 2023 was his official breakout.
Despite his size at 6’5″, 291 pounds, Robinson rotated out to the edge to fill the void left by McGuire’s departure. He filled it without even breaking a sweat.
Darius Robinson emerged as a game-wrecker in his final season for @MizzouFootball — racking up 8.5 sacks and 14 TFL. 💪#NFLDraft | #MIZ🐯pic.twitter.com/3uPILWtw6m https://t.co/3YJvowauel
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) April 11, 2024
Even while working through injuries, Robinson managed to rack up 41 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 12 TFLs, and a forced fumble, earning him first-team All-SEC recognition.
A two-year captain and an alignment-versatile defender, Robinson checks a lot of cosmetic boxes for NFL teams. But on film, how do his traits stack up?
Robinson’s Scouting Report
Strengths
- One-of-a-kind size threat with elite mass, 35″ arms, and vast alignment versatility
- Shows glimpses of great, long-strider explosiveness when he has a lane to attack
- Hyper-elite power capacity and can cave in his side of the line with torque
- Dominating threat who can plow tackles back into QBs’ laps with his power
- Excels at loading his base and attaining proper leverage and alignment in run defense
- Can sequentially absorb combo blocks and wrench down anchors with mass and length
- Elite play strength allows him to stack solo blocks and peek, shed, and swallow runners
- Routinely obliterates gaps in run defense with strength, base, and sturdy leverage
- Can use swift lateral agility to shade across gaps and generate interior pressure
- Flashes impressive cornering ability and acute angle freedom when breaching the apex
- Glimpses of high-end ankle flexion by sinking below blocks and pinching tight paths
- Proactively uses length to channel power and pry his way through gaps
- Can perfectly apply power on snatch-swim rushes, tearing through the outside shoulder
- Stacks outside clubs and chops off push-pull moves, controlling reps with his traits
- Carries a relentless motor, fighting through contact and chasing plays with voracity
Weaknesses
- Doesn’t always have elite one-step explosiveness off the snap
- Functions better with room to expand his strides to the apex and through gaps
- Doesn’t have elite hip flexibility and isn’t always able to roll under extensions
- Lacks hip flexibility necessary to sustain pressure upfield while adjusting angles
- Lacks the elite twitch necessary to manipulate blockers and prepare power rushes
- Can be slow to adapt off initial run reads on play-action
- Sometimes diverts too far upright off the snap when rushing from wider alignments
- Isn’t always able to use his strength and torque to pry through pass-blocking anchors
- At times, precision with his inside hand can be more consistent on counters
- Can be smoother and more consistent in sequencing moves and keeping synergy
- Can improve at reloading his hands and stacking moves off of initial power exertions
- At times, drifts too far laterally on inside swims, delaying his advance up gaps
- Sometimes widens his base too much attempting to drive power, stalling rushes
- Sometimes struggles to manage his base alignment and keep load while stunting
- Doesn’t have high-level pursuit speed in space
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Robinson grades out as a top-50 prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft on my board. He’s worthy of early-to-mid Day 2 capital, and for teams that place heightened value on power, disruptive potential, and alignment versatility, he could be a first-round candidate.
Robinson was an interior defensive lineman earlier in his collegiate career, but some of his most impressive reps in 2023 came on the edge. His cumulative experience has taken him from 3-tech and 4i to 5-tech, 7-tech, and wide-9. The upside is there for him to be a true wild card on an NFL defensive line.
At 6’5″, 291 pounds, with 35″ levers for arms, Robinson is a lab-built power generator. He leverages his explosiveness and length into displacement energy incredibly well by loading his base.
Additionally, he’s an albatross in close pursuit, a stack-and-shed extraordinaire in run defense, and he flashes exciting bend, stunting agility, and hand-fighting nuance as a pass rusher.
There’s still work to do for Robinson if he’s to reach his ultimate ceiling. While the highs are very high in the pass-rushing department, his overall synergy and counter quickness can be more consistent. Additionally, his footwork can dilute attack opportunities at times, and he occasionally drifts too high with his pads.
KEEP READING: Top EDGEs in 2024 NFL Draft
Nevertheless, Robinson is a high-motor, high-utility DL with a natural feel for leverage alignment and incredible upside as a hybrid presence. He can set heavy edges at 5-tech in run defense and obliterate gaps, or cave in the pocket with his elite raw power. He has the combined burst, agility, bend, and hand-fighting promise to expand beyond that.
Robinson’s range of outcomes is relatively large, but as an alignment-versatile rotational defender, he has a high floor right out of the gate — especially on run downs. In time, with more pass-rushing development, he can be an impact starter across all three downs.
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