The New York Giants surprised their fans and the NFL universe when they selected Kentucky wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson with the 43rd pick in Round 2 of the NFL draft this spring.
It wasn’t that Robinson wasn’t a highly regarded prospect heading into the draft that had people perplexed, it was where the Giants took him. In many mock drafts and rankings, Robinson was considered a Day 3 selection.
But here were the Giants, in their first draft under general manager Joe Schoen, rocking the apple cart on Day 2, trading back and taking Robinson after scoring big in the first round with edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux and offensive tackle Evan Neal.
“He’s a generator when the ball is in his hands. He can run after a catch. He can separate from DBs, he gets open,” Schoen told reporters after drafting Robinson. “He played some running back at Nebraska. That’s a versatile piece you can use in your offense. If you look at some of the other guys, how you can use them, and if you look at (head coach Brian) Daboll’s past or you look at (offensive coordinator Mike) Kafka’s past in terms of the creativeness in their offense and the weapons they can utilize, I think you can kind of see what the vision may look like.”
This major knock on Robinson is his size. He is 5-foot-8 and weighs around 180 pounds. Not exactly the dimensions that throw a scare into defenses.
“That was really one of the knocks was my size,” Robinson told the New York Post’s Steve Serby. “Even going in the NFL, that was one of the knocks, but at the end of the day, I know I just gotta be me and gotta be my own person.”
Robinson has been basically the same size since high school and it hasn’t fazed him one bit. If players such as NFL superstar Tyreek Hill and Arizona’s Rondale Moore (who is actually smaller than Robinson) can make it, he feels he can, too.
Robinson does not know what the Giants have in store for him just yet. They’ll iron all of that out in training camp. With Sterling Shepard (Achilles) working his way back into form and Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney wearing the red injury jerseys at minicamp, the Giants may have to hustle something up for Robinson quicker than expected.
He describes himself as “explosive, tough, dependable” and points out that he’s tougher than you might think.
“Go watch that last Bowl game , the final drive,” Robinson said. “Third down … took a shot right up under the chin, right in the chest, they took me out for a play, brought me right back in, and then got the ball two plays in a row and was able to get it down to the 1-yard line and running back ran it in for a touchdown.”
The Giants are hoping they have more than just a gadget player in Robinson, who is ready to prove he is a legit NFL weapon.
“At the end of the day, you have to either be able to tackle me, you have to be able to guard me,” Robinson added. “So that’s just kinda how I look at it, and if you can’t do those things then you can’t talk too much after that, so …”
