Entering year two of his NFL career, 2024 first-round pick and outside linebacker Chop Robinson looks to build upon a successful rookie season.
Named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team, Robinson finished his rookie year with 26 tackles, six sacks, eight tackles for loss, 14 quarterback hits and four passes defended. Robinson was second among rookies in sacks as well as quarterback hits, trailing only Los Angeles Rams OLB Jared Verse in both.
Robinson took a bit of time to get going last year, yet while many rookies hit the proverbial wall late in the season, Robinson gained momentum and ran right through it. It was Week 9 against the Buffalo Bills when he made his first professional sack and followed up the next game against the Los Angeles Rams with another takedown of the quarterback.
That was the start of a stretch that saw Robinson among the best in the league in total pressures while having the ninth-best pass-rush grade in that time frame of 83.9. As per PFF, Robinson’s seasonal pass-rushing grade was 78.7, which ranked 17th in the NFL among 211 qualified edge rushers.
Breaking down the differences in each half of last season, Robinson had just 11 pressures for an 11.3% pressure rate and zero sacks in Week 1 through Week 8, causing just two havoc plays. A havoc play is either a sack, tackle for loss, forced fumble, interception or pass breakup as per The 33rd Team. Once Week 9 hit, Robinson became a menace with 45 pressures, a 19.7% pressure rate, his six seasonal sacks, and 12 havoc plays.
It is with this momentum that Robinson looks to further develop his pass-rushing prowess, while also turning the corner in the rush defense aspect of the game. Although improving at setting the edge, Robinson was graded at 55.4 by PFF against the rush.
As the Dolphins begin their mandatory minicamp, the pass-rushing group has name-brand talent surrounding Robinson. Both Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips return from season-ending injuries.
Chubb missed the entire season after a Week 17 knee injury against the Baltimore Ravens, but the veteran loved what he saw from the Penn State product in year one.
“Man, I’ve been smiling ear to ear every time I get a chance to look at the tape,” Chubb said of Robinson last month.
A healthy Chubb, as well as 2021 first-round pick Phillips, combined with Robinson developing in his second season could bolster a Dolphins pass rush that ranked 27th in the league in sacks.
Just a season prior, Miami ranked third in the category under defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Of course, current coordinator Anthony Weaver was without Chubb for a full season and lost Phillips in Week 4.
Weaver’s defense was much different than Fangio’s in terms of generating pressure, but a full season with a trio of Robinson, Chubb and Phillips could make a world of difference in Weaver’s 2025 unit, especially with an emphasis on the interior of the defensive line.
Miami invested heavily with three rookies from the 2025 draft class in defensive tackles Kenneth Grant, Jordan Phillips, and Zeek Biggers. Joining Zach Sieler in the trenches, the rookie trio could assist the edge rushing triple-threat greatly with the space they could eat up.
Perhaps Weaver said it best to reporters back in May.
“If by God’s grace we’re fortunate that Jaelan Phillips can stay on the field, Bradley Chubb, Chop (Robinson) coming into year two, the additions we made on the defensive line and Zach Sieler, obviously, I think we can help them too by being more disruptive and creating more chaos for the quarterback,” Weaver said.
Chop himself was imagining the potential with his fellow edge rushers.
“I’m super excited. Just imagining the three of us on the field at the same time, or just me and JP. Or JP and Chubb at the same time, it’s kind of hard for tackles to (say), ‘All right, you’ve got to study JP, you’ve got to study Chubb, you’ve got to study me.’ And if we’re all on the field at the same time, it (can) kind of mess up the offense’s mind, because they wouldn’t know what to do,” Robinson said.
The Dolphins’ mandatory minicamp runs from Tuesday through Thursday this week at Baptist Health Training Facility in Miami Gardens.
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