What RB Brian Robinson Jr. brings to the Washington Commanders
Taking a closer look at the skill set of the Commanders third-round pick
The Washington Commanders raised a few eyebrows on Friday night of the draft after selecting Alabama running back Brian Robinson Jr. in the third-round. The desire to add a running back isn’t surprising given the over-reliance on Antonio Gibson despite him struggling with various injuries and fumbling issues. In that regard, adding another running back that can carry a significant workload does make sense, but spending a third-round pick on him is surprising given Gibson is still expected to be the starting back and third-round picks are typically expected to compete for starting roles.
Like with second-round pick Phidarian Mathis, there’s questions about this pick from media and fans, which stem more from the value of the pick rather than the ability of the player. Some have suggested Robinson, a 6-foot-2, 225 pound bruiser, was taken to fill the role vacated by Peyton Barber last year in short-yardage situations. Robinson can certainly fill that role, and I’ll look at that later in this piece, but he’s got far more to his game than that. No team would draft a short-yardage back in the third-round, especially when the short-yardage back he’d supposedly be replacing is currently a free agent that could be signed on a very cheap deal.
The truth is, Robinson offers a lot more than just being a power back that can convert on third and short or power in for touchdowns on the goal line. Yes, he can do those things, but he also offers a much more diverse skill set that means he’s capable of a significantly bigger role. As a third-round pick, perhaps he was drafted to compete with Gibson for the starting role, or at least a good chunk of his carries. If that’s the case, what exactly does Robinson bring to the table? Let’s take a closer look.
The first thing that stands out with Robinson is obviously his strength and power. His large frame makes him tough to bring down, especially for smaller defensive backs.
Here, Robinson takes the hand-off on an inside zone run from the shotgun. He works towards the left side of the line initially, but the Ole Miss defenders do a good job filling their gaps and forcing him to cut back, Robinson cuts his run back until he reaches the unblocked defender in the hole, a defensive back filling in as the free defender. Robinson knows he has the size advantage, so he cuts back into the defender and withstands the hit. Robinson runs a little too upright, making him a big target, which is a trend in his game, but he still manages to show tremendous contact balance and ability to keep his legs pumping.
He bounces off the initial hit and works back inside, running between two more defensive backs, who both attempt to bring him down. Robinson, however, continues to fight through the contact and drags the defenders with him down the field. A third and then fourth defender make contact with him, but Robinson just keeps himself balanced enough that he can continue to pump his legs and gain more yards. Eventually Ole Miss manage to bring him down, but as you’ll appreciate from the wider replay angle, he managed to pick up more than 20 yards on a play where an unblocked defender landed a hit in the hole.
The power is an obvious trait for Robinson, but he’s also surprisingly agile. He has a nice lateral jump cut that he uses regularly on gap scheme runs to bounce outside, but he also can make sharp cuts on zone plays to make free defenders miss.
This is a zone run from the shotgun, but it quickly has issues up front thanks to a strong stunt from the defensive front. The defensive tackles stunt towards the left side of the line to disrupt the rhythm of the blocking scheme. Meanwhile, one linebacker replaces the defensive tackle on the play side of the line in the A gap while the back side linebacker overlaps him and works outside. Robinson works to the edge as designed, but the edge is guarded, so Robinson faces a tough spot. He only has one gap he can work in, the B gap between his right tackle and right guard.
However, there’s a safety working up from deep that’s unaccounted for and a linebacker overlapping from the other side that’s roaming free. Both close on the hole in the B gap as Robinson arrives at the line of scrimmage. However, Robinson uses a terrific cut that surprises the linebacker, leaving him to over pursue the run outside and cutting off the angle for the safety. Robinson then accelerates into the openfield on his way to another big gain.
That sharp cutting ability along with his powerful frame means that Robinson is elusive enough to make linebackers and bigger safeties miss with a cut and then progress on to running over smaller safeties or cornerbacks all within the same play.
On this play, Robinson executes an inside zone run scheme from the pistol. He winds his run back to follow the path of the sifting tight end and then cuts it all the way back behind him. The safety charges up from deep to fill the alley, but Robinson steps up to him, squares him up and then shows off his lateral jump cut to make him miss his tackle attempt. From there, Robinson encounters the corner on the outside. Robinson quickly gets his feet underneath him and proceeds to run over the cornerback, picking up five more yards as the corner attempts to drag him down. He’s only stopped as other defenders arrive to help secure the tackle.
Robinson combines a nice blend of size, power and cutting ability that at his best means he can make the first defender miss and then run over the second, smaller wave of defenders to maximize his potential gains on every run. But he also shows flashes of smart running. He’s not just a big bruiser with a nice jump cut, he also understands how to set up some blocks and bait linebackers into the wrong gap.
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