Just thought I'd share a few thoughts regarding Aldrick Robinson.
Like many, upgrading the WR position has been on my mind quite a bit this past offseason, and after much thought, I have Aldrick Robinson as my dark horse to make the team. Here's a few thoughts as to why I believe this.
I'll start by mentioning Perry Riley. After we drafted the LB out of LSU in the 4th round, many thought he'd step in quickly to help out a struggling LB core at the time. But when we first saw him in preseason action as a rookie, he looked completely lost in the 3/4 defense and we barely saw anything from him the rest of his rookie year.
So in 2011 when Riley replaced McIntosh as the starter, Riley exploded on the field and blew everyone away with his performances. So what happened? Well, during his rookie year, Lou Spanos and Jim Haslett were developing the kid behind the scenes and turned him into a solid LB. This coaching staff has done well at developing players. Not only did we see great development with Riley, but we also witnessed solid development with some of our offensive players as well... players such as Royster, Helu and some of our back-up OL guys who were forced into action due to injury with our original starters. Our back-up o-linemen started playing very well towards the end of the season, helping both rookies Helu and Royster obtain several games each rushing for 100+ yards.
With that said, I believe that same kind of development may have been happening with Robinson behind the scenes while he spent last season on the practice squad. The 2011 CBA battle that negated the entire offseason last year made it pretty difficult for a rookie WR to earn a roster spot on the 53-man squad. We all know the WR position is difficult to learn and takes many WR's a few seasons to master.
But here's what we know...
After spending the entire season on the practice squad, the Jaguars made an attempt to sign Robinson just prior to the last game of the 2011 season. Shanahan promoted Robinson to the 53-man active roster for the last game of the year in an obvious attempt to block the Jag's from getting him.
Now, after watching and evaluating Robinson's development for an entire year on the practice squad, if Shanahan didn't see promise or potential in the kid, I'm pretty sure they would have let the Jag's sign him, especially considering that the coaching staff probably already knew at that point that addressing the WR position was going to be a priority for the coming offseason.
After the signing of Garcon and Morgan, and with the return to health of Hankerson and the healthier, stronger and lighter Moss, I think we can easily assume those four are safe. So on the bubble we have Armstrong, Austin, Banks and Robinson. Of this group, I believe Robinson could be leading the bunch.
First, Robinson is one of Shanahan's draft picks. Robinson played for Mike Shanahan's close friend June Jones at SMU and Shanahan likes players from that offense. (Shanny took another SMU Mustang this year in Josh LeRibeus.)
Anthony Armstrong had a very poor year in 2011 with only 7 catches for 103 yards. Some of this can be attributed to poor QB play, but much of it had to do with Armstrong not impressing in practices. Armstrong only started 2 games last year. If Shanahan had more faith and trust in him, especially AA coming off a strong 2010 campaign, AA should have started more games in 2011. I believe AA was struggling for whatever reason and Shanahan lost some faith in him. We also have to remember that AA was a 27 year old rookie in 2010 and a leftover from the Zorn era. Now at 29, I believe his age and the fact that he was a Zorn guy puts Robinson (a Shanahan draft pick) in the lead position. (We've seen what Shanahan has done with the vast majority of Zorn's and Ceratto's guys.)
We all know, recognize and admire Banks skills as a returner and we already know Shanahan likes him very much in that role. I'll never forget the smile on Shanahan's face walking the sideline having just watched Banks return a kick for a TD in preseason last year. But as we all agree, and as Shanahan has recently noted, Banks must to more than just return kicks.
So at WR, I honestly see more potential with Robinson than I do with Banks. As others have mentioned, Banks size, or more accurately, his lack of size, makes him extremely weak at the WR position. Banks is noted for being the leagues lightest player since 2010. With the glaring weakness we've had at WR over the past few years, if the coaches thought Banks or Austin had potential, I believe we would have seen them on the field at some point over the past two years. We didn't... and that tells me Banks and Austin are lacking something, or have yet to develop to the coaches liking.
When Shanahan drafted Robinson in the 6th round last year, some thought Robinson could eventually prove to be a
sleeper of the 2011 draft class. I believe that prediction could still come to fruition. All fans have seen from Robinson are 2 muffed punts in preseason last year. I honestly believe that was simply the result of a nervous rookie playing in his first NFL action. We've already heard some very positive comments regarding Robinson's development from this offseasons mini-camps, OTA's and workouts, and Robinson himself
feels more confident coming into this season. I very well could end up being wrong about the kid, but I believe Shanahan really likes him and Robinson will make the team this year.
ey and BB make your irrational posts look foolish... Again.
A yes/no will suffice.