Penn State WR Allen Robinson

He reportedly ran a 4.4 at his pro day today, that's a big improvement from the combine when he ran a 4.6. Tomlin was there, Robinson could be a possible 2nd target.

 

Robinson has a good game, but so do a lot of other WR's that fall in the 2nd round grade. I would like to have Robinson, but in all likelihood he will probably go before we pick and will push other WR's like Matthews or Moncrief further down the board to our pick in round 2.

 

It's not all about his pro day but he did need to improve his 40 time to help his draft stock IMO.

 

Mike Wallace had a 40 inch vertical at the combine. It didn't translate onto the field.

http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/mike-wallace?id=81877

 

Yeah because he decided he didn't get paid to jump...It's not that the vertical is not important ,but the player must choose to use their gifts...

 

Robinson was a force for Penn State, he was the best player on the field in a few games I saw of them.

I would love if Steelers could get this guy.

 

Absolutely. Or, even more common, they must be able to use them. Vertical jump is one of my least favorite measurables, because guys almost never do that on the field. If you actually watch the feet of receivers on a lot of big, tall contested catches, many times they're barely off the ground when they make contact with the ball. It's about when you jump, and where you position yourself just before you do. The playoff run Larry FitzGerald had in '08 was amazing, but it drove me nuts that he got all this, "he's unstoppable no one can stop a high pass to him" stuff, based on a few big touchdowns he had. I don't want to take anything away from him, but for a lot of the big plays he made, the defenders were on the ground when he caught the ball. They certainly weren't doing their best vertical jump like at the combine. When he scored on Ike in the SB, he was maybe a foot off the ground when he caught it. Most of us could have knocked down that ball if we were in the right spot and facing the right direction.

It's not just about hops, and it's also not just about desire. Timing and ball-in-air judgment are separate skills that matter more than both. I'll take a guy with a 25" vertical that knows how to use it over a guy with a 40" vertical that doesn't.

 

To me, the jumping exercises, vertical and long, are more telling about the players overall explosiveness. And less about their ability to high point the ball. Need explosive movement on a play by play basis. You may need to high point the ball once a game, maybe. We bash Wallace, and I couldn't stand him, but guy was explosive. Jump ball play is more desire, and he certainly lacks that.