In a recent mock draft, The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have Penn-State edge rusher Chop Robinson falling to them, according to Pro Football Focus.
GettyChop Robinson against Northwestern.
On February 28, Pro Football Focus’s Dalton Wasserman posted an article titled “2024 NFL Draft: Best-case scenarios for all 32 NFL teams.”
According to Wasserman, “The Buccaneers are truly in a ‘best player available’ scenario.”
“They massively overachieved last season and were the lowest-graded team to make the postseason,” Wasserman wrote. “They have needs on the offensive line and across the board on defense. For now, we’ll take a swing on uber-talented pass rusher Chop Robinson here.”
“The Bucs generally struggled to generate pressure without blitzing, so Robinson would add to Tampa Bay’s plethora of young defensive linemen. Looming over their draft situation, though, is Mike Evans’ contract situation. If he were to depart, wide receivers like Adonai Mitchell, Brian Thomas Jr. and Keon Coleman immediately become options to fill the void.”
Wasserman also wrote that the Bucs’ main goal was to “add talent across the board.”
Hence, it’s no secret that the Buccaneers have a lot of building to do through this draft to help supplement the free-agent decisions. A pick like Chop Robinson could surely add a lot of value to the roster in that avenue. So, what exactly can Tampa Bay expect from a player like Robinson to bring to the field?
Turbin: Robinson a “Freak Athlete”
Robert Turbin spoke about Robinson on NFL Total Access after his combine performance. Turbin stated that Robinson was a “freak athlete” and a “pure pass rusher.”
While Turbin wasn’t linking Robinson to the Buccaneers at the time, he talked about the explosiveness and talent that he would bring to a team.
“This guy just ran a 4.4 (40-yard dash), right? And his split was a 1.5, that’s getting off of the football with explosiveness.”
Robinson started his collegiate career with Maryland in 2021. After one season, Robinson transferred to Penn State where he played two seasons on the defensive line for the Nittany Lions. Needless to say, Robinson has built a great name for himself in college football.
Throughout his collegiate career (16 games), Robinson managed to rack up a total of 35 total tackles, 1 pass defense, 6 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.
Robinson: “We Had a Great Meeting”
On February 29, Pewter Report posted a video on Twitter.
In the video, Robinson was asked whether or not he had met with the Buccaneers.
Robinson replied, “Yeah, I’ve met with the Buccaneers. That was my first team I met with. We had a great meeting.”
When asked if it was formal or informal, Robinson replied, “It was formal.”
Although this was just a mock draft, it seems likely that the Buccaneers would be satisfied with a player like Robinson in the first round.
The Buccaneers currently have 18 unrestricted free agents pending. Tampa Bay could unfortunately lose out on a lot of key pieces this offseason.
Furthermore, with the announcement of Shaq Barrett’s release coming into play, as well as both Devin White and Lavonte David set to become free agents, the front seven could certainly use a lot of help.
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