5 later-round edge rushers the Detroit Lions could target in 2022 NFL Draft

5. Dominique Robinson, DE, Miami (OH)

Robinson is a converted wide receiver who came to Miami of Ohio as a quarterback recruit, and he has just two years of experience (actually 15 games, due to a truncated 2020 season-three games) at defensive end. He had 28 tackles, 4.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss for the RedHawks last season on his way to earning Third Team All-MAC honors, and in just three games in 2020 he had nine tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. As could have been expected, his measurables at the NFL Combine were solid (6-foot-5, 253 pounds, 33 and 1/4-inch arms, 4.71 40, 41-inch vertical, 10-foot-1-inch broad jump, 25 bench reps).

Despite gaining weight in the move to defensive end, Robinson kept the athleticism and explosiveness inherent to the  wide receiver position. But as Lance Zierliein of NFL.com noted, he is raw and needs to develop counter moves as a pass rusher, get stronger setting edges against the run and broadly build a base of technique that allows for a more refined and less variable game as he heads to the next level.

Zierlein’s comp for Robinson is Whitney Mercilus, a solid pass rusher in the league who has played 10 seasons. Robinson seems to have more upside than that, but time will tell.