5 draft prospects the Detroit Lions should easily avoid in 2024 NFL Draft

2. Penn State EDGE Chop Robinson

Robinson is quite simply an elite athlete, and expected he tore up the testing at the NFL Combine (4.48 40, 34.5-inch vertical, 9.71 Relative Athletic Score). Pro Football Focus was complementary of his work last season, with the fifth-highest overall grade (90.9) and the fourth-highest pass rushing grade (92.3) among edge rushers. In 2022, the PFF numbers were similar (92.4 pass rush grade, 90.6 overall grade, 20-plus percent pass rush win rate).

But those high-end numbers did not translate to high-end production in college, which has to be a concern.

Robinson had a total of 9.5 sacks over his two years at Penn State. At a certain point, winning pass rush reps and putting pressure on opposing passers has to yield production, and PFF itself noted how he feasted on inferior offensive tackles. His run defense grades were solid, but PFF also had his run stop rate in just the 23rd percentile over the last three college seasons.

Robinson has sometimes been a very popular mock draft pick to the Lions at No. 29, as they seek a long-term running mate for Aidan Hutchinson. It will be a moot point if he's off the board before they go on the clock with that pick, but an overriding narrative around Robinson says he's a boom-or-bust draft prospect. Assuming that showed up on his tape, the Lions had to be turned off by it when there are edge rushers they should (do?) like better as an all-around fit.