Former Penn State first-round pick has a massive breakout opportunity in Miami

Chop Robinson was one of the leaders of Penn State’s dominant defense in 2023 and his two excellent seasons in Happy Valley landed him in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Robinson was selected 21st overall by the Miami Dolphins and now because of a devastating injury along Miami’s defensive line, Robinson has a massive opportunity for a breakout rookie season. 

Dolphins star defensive end Jaelan Phillips is out for the rest of the 2024 season after tearing his ACL on Monday Night Football in Miami’s Week 4 loss to the Tennessee Titans. Phillips made an incredible recovery from a torn Achilles he suffered during last year’s Black Friday game to return for the first four games of the season before another devastating injury derailed the 25-year-old’s promising career. 

Now, defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver and head coach Mike McDaniel have no choice but to turn to their first-round rookie. Robinson played a career-high 40 defensive snaps in Miami’s Week 5 win over New England. He generated three quarterback pressures and has eight on the season, but has yet to record his first career sack, though it may be coming very soon. 

In Robinson’s 66 pass-rushing snaps on the year, he has a pass-rush win rate of 16.7%, which is the third-best on the Dolphins' defense and ranks 20th in the NFL among players with at least 50 pass-rushing snaps. Robinson also has the second-best pass rush win rate among rookies, only trailing Jared Verse, the LA Rams’ first-round pick out of Florida State, who is third in the NFL to Aidan Hutchinson and Myles Garrett at 26.9%. 

Robinson is the only player among the NFL’s top 30 players in pass-rush win rate without a sack. Miami is on a bye in Week 6 of the NFL season, but the former Nittany Lion could get his first one this week against Indianapolis in Week 7. 

Beyond just Phillips, the Dolphins also lost star defensive tackle Christian Wilkins to the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency this offseason, so Robinson will arguably be the most important pass rusher on Weaver’s defense.

With Tua Tagovailoa out after suffering another concussion, Miami is 2-3 and could be heading for a lost season, so development of young players like their No. 1 pick out of Penn State, will be that much more important to the organization. If Robinson has a breakout rookie season, he could become the centerpiece of Miami’s defense for years to come and part of the foundation of the inevitable roster reconstruction in South Florida.