Welcome to Purple & Gold Prospects!

This will be an ongoing series to get Vikings fans familiar with upcoming draft prospects. The focus of this series will be to cover prominent prospects entering the upcoming NFL Draft. The series will center on the position groups of highest need on the current Vikings roster, but will also cover stand out players across the spectrum. I hope you will join me on this continuing journey to learn more about upcoming draft classes.

With that let’s discover the possible future of your Minnesota Vikings!

Background

Height: 6030

Weight: 254

Demeioun “Chop” Robinson was a 5-star recruit out of Quince Orchard High Scholl in Gaithersburg, Maryland. This earned him many offers from prestigious schools such as Alabama, Ohio State, and Michigan. In the end he decided to stay local and enrolled with the Maryland Terrapins for the 2021 season. After the season he entered the transfer portal and went to Penn State where he flourished. In two seasons at Penn State he accumulated 41 tackles (including 17.5 TFLs), 9.5 sacks, 3 defended passes, 3 forced fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries. His development has launched him into the first round of the upcoming draft and could threaten to be the first EDGE selected.

Games watched: Michigan 2022, Ohio State 2022, Purdue 2022, Michigan 2023, Ohio State 2023

Strengths

Robinson has good size and length for the position. His arms aren’t the longest but he uses every bit of them to keep opponents at bay and from engaging. He has very powerful punches and swipes to keep opposing OL from locking him up and knocking them off-balance. His hand fighting is also very good at keeping OL from getting into his chest. Chop has elite burst and speed off the snap. He forces OTs to set wide otherwise they risk him blowing by with his combination of speed an bend. His pre-snap movement and footwork can set up opponents well for rush moves and counters. He also has reps of converting his speed into an impressive amount of power to collapse the pocket. His flexibility is impressive. He uses dip and bend to minimize contact space and get under or split opposing offensive linemen. His awareness is also very good, keeping his eyes on the QB and getting hands into throwing lanes to try and disrupt passes. Robinson sets the edge very well often forcing ball carriers inside. He anchors well in one on one situations and can use his power to push run blockers back. Fairly effortless block shedder with good ability and timing to throw off blockers and make the tackle. He also uses his power extremely well to push blockers into run lanes and collapse holes before runners can get through. This is especially on display when he is working the play from the outside in. He also displays a really good ability to drop into coverage and understanding of where to defend his zones. His awareness shows up greatly in this aspect with the ability to convert rush attempts into disengagements and cover running backs and tight ends leaking out for passes. Chop has a relentless motor and pursuit. He will continually follow plays and clean-up tackles. Always seems to find his way around the play where ever it is on the field.

Weaknesses

Robinson has some warts to his game still. Against double teams, if he isn’t able to win with his burst and flexibility to split the offensive linemen he doesn’t have much of a second plan currently. He can play too high at times allowing opposing OL to get leverage or knock him off-balance. There are occasional moments of losing sight of the play when engaged. This can make him late to shedding blocks and missing on tackles. If opponents are able to get into his chest it can be a slight struggle to shed them or get much movement to the play. While his anchor is very good in one on one situations he tends to get pushed back and stood up when facing double teams. I would like to see more consistency in pad level while attacking any situation. While he does a great job causing OTs to set wide, I would like him to develop more inside rush moves and counters to take advantage of this. Lastly he can get too excited at times pre-snap causing shifts in balance that don’t allow him to use his immense burst and speed to immediately stress defenders.

Conclusion

Robinson has the best blend of burst, speed, and flexibility in this class. He combines that with good timing on strikes and swipes to consistently win reps against his opponents. He was already very good in 2022 but his development with hand fighting and placement over the 2023 season has placed him in the top tier of EDGE rushers in the upcoming NFL Draft. Chop is a very well rounded prospect in all phases of the game and doesn’t have many weaknesses. For the Vikings he would be a perfect pairing on the opposite side of the line from Danielle Hunter. It would also add an immediate second pass rushing threat the the Vikings were sorely missing in 2023. I would absolutely be comfortable with them taking him at 11 overall. I don’t know if he will be the first EDGE taken as it seems the majority of analysts still have Dallas Turner above everyone else. However, I do believe Chop will still land inside the top 20 come next April.

Grade

Quickness/Burst: 14.5 / 15

Size/Length: 13 / 15

Awareness: 8.9 / 10

Counters/Rush Moves: 8.5 / 10

Coverage: 8.2 / 10

Dip/Bend: 9.5 / 10

Power: 8.7 / 10

Run Defense: 8.5 / 10

Tackling: 8 / 10

OVERALL: 87.8 – Late First Round