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Demeioun 'Chop' Robinson, EDGE, Penn State (Junior)

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Rayane M

Back for the 2024 NFL Draft edition, The Trick Play team is once again offering to immerse you in the heart of the event through the scouting reports of Rayane and Valentin. Who will become the next gem of the pro world and who, on the contrary, risks a spectacular flop?
The 2024 NFL Draft starts right now on TTP!

 

Strengths :

  • Ultra explosive and fast
  • Plays really low
  • Powerful
  • Capable of wreaking havoc
  • Very good against the run in general
  • Able to drop into coverage
  • Really good Bend for his size
  • Hyperactive player
  • Extremely aggressive playstyle
  • Age
  • Good hand technique

 

Weaknesses :

  • Too many plays in complete imbalance 
  • Significant play recognition work needed
  • Tackling technique needs improvement
  • Sometimes overly aggressive
  • Youth and fervor need channeling
  • Lack of statistical production that may cause concern

TTProfil

 
Demeioun Robinson, also known as ‘Chop,’ is the epitome of an extremely young player who constantly flashes on every tape but is clearly a bet on the future. As mentioned, he is young, physically intimidating, and a very raw player, but if he clearly lacks stats for a player many see going in the first round, I can understand the hype. Chop is a bet that is really enticing!
 
Let's start by discussing his physique. While Chop isn't a titan and could even be seen as "small" for the position, at 6’3 and 250 pounds, he's still a sizable presence. More importantly, his explosiveness is absolutely terrifying; he's ultra explosive and manages to maintain speed over long distances, meaning he has both great acceleration and good speed.
To complement his complete athlete profile, he possesses significant power, which he doesn't hesitate to combine with his massive explosiveness, causing significant damage on certain plays. It's very simple, on certain plays, his mere presence on the field is enough to cause significant damage on the ligne of scrimmageSuch flashes are unmistakable and rare, especially against the usually solid Big Ten O-Lines. de Big Ten qui sont pour la plupart vraiment qualitatives.
Another aspect that benefits greatly from his power is his ability to punch opposing blockers. Thanks to his power, he has a good punch, thus a significant separation ability from blockers, allowing him not to get trapped in their blocks.
 
Thanks to the previously mentioned points, ‘Chop’ Robinson manages to excel against the run, and I find him very good at one particular aspect of run defense, namely "setting the edge" and redirecting the play inside. Chop is really skilled at this; the issue is that when he does it well, the runner ends up being tackled by another player, reducing Robinson's stats.
Moreover, Chop plays really low and is often lower than his opponents, he often has excellent leverage due to maintaining a good power angle and being naturally shorter than most OTs, which, once again, coupled with everything else, can become a nightmare for an OL.
Adding to that Chop's hyperactivity and ultra-aggressiveness, we start to see why ‘Chop’ Robinson generates so much interest.
 
Let's talk about his hyperactivity in the trenches, which goes hand in hand with the chaos he can create. Simply put, he almost never stops trying to make something happen; always moving, trying to hit a gap, blast a potential blocker, plug a gap, raise his arms when he sees the QB cock his arm, try to create a pile of players to force the ball carrier to bounce back and thus lose ground.
As long as the play is within his action zone, he tries to impact it, and I'm sorry, but I love that! It's the essence of what I appreciate in a player, 100% effort throughout the play, a player who does not cheat when he's on the field!
While Chop may slow down a bit when the action moves far from him, it's nothing to suggest a lazy player or anything of the sort; he still pursues seriously, which is worth noting when many players don't.
That's the hyperactive side, but as I wrote, another point to highlight is his aggressiveness, which I consider a very positive trait in defense, especially in the trenches. Demeioun is a very, very aggressive player in his playing style. He leaves little room for finesse in his gameplay, constantly in aggression, explosion, and brutality. It hits hard, battles for every yard, even though he sometimes shows flashes of finesse and fluidity quite amazing for his size and suggests a bright future if coached correctly. 

Regarding quality finesse work when he wants, there's really nice handwork on his Pass Rushhe quickly clears blockers' hands and has good fluidity in his upper body twist to keep the blocker's hands out of reach, coupled with a devastating hesitation move (or Stutter Step for those wanting the real football term) due to his ability to re-explode after the body feint. Another crucial point for any edge rusher seen with a bright future as a pass rusher is Chop's bending ability, which is surprising and really quality for his size because, at 6’3 and 250lbs, Chop is a heavy and "small" player, so he's really built and generally, such profiles are not necessarily agile and capable to bend well due to a lack of trunk fluidity. Another good point for him.
 
Last interesting points about Robinson are his age, just turning 21 at the time of drafting, so a complete rookie season at 21, allowing for medium to long-term development without worrying too much if he doesn't meet expectations in his first seasons. As we all know, the younger a player, the higher their value, especially for such a star position.
Finally, Chop should be able to play in any system since he seems more than capable of dropping into coverage and thus playing OLB in a 30-front scheme. The season's sample where he does this is fairly extensive and really decent, keeping all doors open, which is excellent.

 
Regarding his weaknesses, let's start with the first point that needs work, his overall imbalance in play.
There are far too many actions where Chop is in complete imbalance. It's not rare to see Robinson throw himself wholeheartedly into the fray, doing so with such explosiveness and aggressiveness that he sometimes ends up completely unbalanced and can be tossed around because he goes all in without thinking too much.
He will need to exhibit more control and technical precision to truly reach his full potential in the pros, although he could still shine from day one if he lands in a 1-Gap system perfect for his qualities and to hide his flaws, giving him free rein in his playstyle, which is becoming rarer in the NFL today.

Another aspect I'm not fond of in Robinson is his sometimes particularly mediocre, if not complicated, game reading in certain phases. While generally okay, he can sometimes be completely sucked in. Working on this is imperative to see him step up in the big league.
 
Chop will also need to work on his tackling technique as there are far too many missed tackles due to his surplus aggression. Chop loves to destroy his opponents and thus loves to launch himself to hit the carrier, unfortunately often costing him tackles that would probably have been made if Robinson had stayed on his feet and focused himself.
 
So, it's clear that the team that selects 'Chop' Robinson will have real work to do with him to channel his aggression and fervor in the right direction so he can finally perform as he should. We agree that his weak statistical season and lack of production might raise questions about his development once in the pros. However, as we've seen throughout this scouting report, there are numerous but not definitive reasons that can explain this lack of statistics.
 

 

So, if we were to summarize everything about Demeioun ‘Chop’ Robinson, it would be simple to say, "Strength: the nickname Chop, incredible. Weakness: Penn State." Butjokes aside, Demeioun "Chop" Robinson is a prospect that can make many front offices drool.

The very young player from the Nittany Lions is a real live wire on the Line of Scrimmage but imagine a battery that had been supercharged to the point of being able to generate enough energy to power your entire neighborhood. Chop's formula is simple: a good dose of natural power exuding from the player, some flashes of finesse and absolutely splendid bending, mixed with ++ athleticism, and sprinkle it all with youth, and you get everything coaches dream of today.
A very young player with a complete skill set, capable of staying on the field regardless of the package or down and distance, with dazzling flashes, and thus, with absolutely insane potential.

Of course, Chop still has flaws, and yes, he still has to work to hope to reach the potential seen in him one day, but make no mistake by looking at the meager stats he made this season, he really has the qualities required today to be taken in the first round of the next draft and especially, in the long term, to dominate at the position.
Just based on his potential, teams will be ready to risk an early pick to grab a potential star at a position of extremely high value.
For my part, past the 15th pick, I would be ready to spend a pick on potential like his.

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