Dominique Robinson career trajectory with Chicago Bears
After one game, Chicago Bears fans thought they found a gem in day three rookie Dominique Robinson. However, now fans are praying for the team to sign anyone to bump him down the depth chart. Despite staying healthy, Robinson had 1.5 sacks after one game and finished with that many by the end of the season.
Dominique Robinson career trajectory with Chicago Bears
Needless to say, that is not what he was hoping for. However, when he was drafted, he was billed as a raw player who may need to redshirt as a rookie, so even getting on the field was a bit of a win. Now, the question is, are there any good recent examples of day three players failing to produce despite playing so much and then becoming an impact players?
Some names with similar statistics and draft ranges include Jonathon Cooper, Kyle Emanuel, John Franlin-Myers, Ade Ogundeji, and DJ Wonnum. Below you can see how they all compared to each other through one season.
Name | Tackles | Sacks | Hits | TFL | Approximate Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jonathon Cooper | 38 | 2.5 | 7 | 4 | 4 |
Kyle Emanuel | 25 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
John Franklin-Myers | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Ade Ogundeji | 33 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
Dominique Robinson | 30 | 1.5 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
DJ Wonnum | 24 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 2 |
This is a fair group to compare to Dominique Robinson through one season. Now, the question is whether any of these outcomes would be worthwhile to the Chicago Bears.
In the case of Ogundeji, and Cooper, they just finished their second season. Both of them had two sack seasons, although Cooper also had seven quarterback hits in year two. Both are rotational rushers and are slated to be in the rotation again in year three, but neither saw a big breakout, and both are viewed similarly.
In the case of Kyle Emanuel, he was a depth player for about five years but never really peaked in the NFL, either. The two names to look at for the Chicago Bears are John Franklin-Myers and DJ Wonnum.
JFM was a depth player as a rookie and even played less than Robinson. By year two, he had three more sacks, and 13 quarterback hits, which led to him earning a spot in the starting lineup. He started the past two years and has 11 sacks combined in that span. John Franklin-Myers is the growth arch that the Bears need to see this season, and if they can get that, it does show that hits can come after rookie seasons similar to Dominique Robinson.
However, the best comparison may be DJ Wonnum. We compared Dominique Robinson to Wonnum last year because they had similar draft profiles. Wonnum had three sacks as a rookie, then shot up to eight in year two. Some were clean-up sacks, which may have been inflated, but he stuck in the rotation and had four sacks in his third season. As a depth rusher, he is solid, and he knows how to get after the quarterback. The team does not rely on him as their big-name rusher, but he helps the rotation.
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These are fair expectations for Robinson. Still, you saw with John Franklin-Myers that he was in the starting lineup after his second year. Wonnum remained a depth guy, but his eight sacks put him on the map. We will learn a lot about Robinson in year two; if he does not take a step this year, it may not come.