Before the Jaguars were landing within a game of the Super Bowl, they were just an impressive collection of talented young players assembled through the draft by Dave Caldwell. Allen Robinson, selected in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft, headlined the group. In 2015, he earned Pro Bowl honors, recording 1,400 yards and a league-leading 15 touchdown receptions, cementing his status as one of the top young receivers in the NFL.

His steady rise has been interrupted the past two seasons by the inconsistent play of Blake Bortles and a season-ending ACL injury. Robinson said recently, “‘I know I’ll be at 100 percent relatively soon.”

Jacksonville featured Robinson as their number one receiver when he last played. He primarily lined up as the X-iso receiver, although he occasionally moved to the slot to create favorable matchups. He was utilized most often on downfield routes in a run-heavy, play action offense that took advantage of his ability to win with nuanced route running. Robinson possesses prototypical WR1 measurables at 6’2, 205 with good athleticism through his very good fluidity and change of direction, solid balance and quickness, and below average explosion.

Positives

Off the LOS, Robinson utilizes hard jab and stutter steps to open the cornerback’s hips and create space to win ideal inside/outside leverage. He utilizes his long arms on powerful double arm swipes to knock away jabs when he’s first with his hands. He runs his route stems consistently and knows where to go.

Even though he isn’t blessed with a sprinter’s speed, Robinson is a polished enough route runner to consistently win against good cornerbacks. At the top of his routes, Robinson can drop his hips and throw a long step out in front to allow excellent suddenness in his route breaks. The receiver shows excellent bend in his hips and can use his length to separate on Comebacks.

He’s intelligent enough to read the body language of the defender and manipulate their hips through convincing hip fakes, double moves, and well-timed speed changes on downfield routes. He knows how to use spacing to create natural picks on Mesh concepts and find his quarterbacks eyes on scramble drills.

Robinson shows very good hands to attack the ball in the air with excellent natural dexterity. He only dropped 3 passes in 2016. His flexibility and body control pop off the screen. He’s able to elevate, dive, or contort to expand his quarterback’s strike zone with the wherewithal to keep both feet in bounds. After the catch, he wastes no time to get up field and advance the ball.

He’s a willing enough blocker that can get his hands inside and cover most defensive backs when needed.

Negatives

Robinson doesn’t play with the consistent physicality you’d like to see from someone with his size. He’ll pitterpatter off the line against imposing press-man corners and can be taken out of the play when he allows them to get their hands into his chest. He displays average acceleration when given clean access against Off.

With very long limbs, Robinson needs to gather himself coming out of breaks and lacks the stop/start quickness to pull away from quicker defenders. He plays like the 4.60 he clocked at the Combine and isn’t running away from anyone. He struggles to hold onto tough catches through contact.

Projection

Robinson presents a fascinating case-study as he heads into free agency. At just 24 years old, he’s already shown he can anchor a passing game as a number one receiver in an offense that features his own slower developing routes and lets him take over with his route running and body control.

He can certainly become the dominate weapon that Matthew Stafford has lacked since Calvin Johnson retired.  However, he presents an obvious risk given his recent ACL tear. He’ll surely have plenty of suitors and will likely command top dollar on the open market, but the opportunity to play with an upper-echelon signal caller could prove all-too enticing.

Grade: 7.00 (Starter You Can Win Because Of)