With the 124th pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, the Baltimore Ravens selected defensive end Tavius Robinson out of Ole Miss, adding his 80-inch wingspan and FBS-leading five forced fumbles in 2022 to Mike Macdonald’s defense.
Our panel was split on Robinson’s selection, with grades ranging from A- to C for a cumulative grade of B-. Analysts were excited about his long frame and senior-year production, with concerns about his refinement and positional fit in Baltimore.
Nikhil Mehta
Grade: C
Using the first selection of Day 3 on a tweener project isn’t what I wanted to see. Robinson mostly lined up off the edge at Ole Miss, but EDC suggested he might move inside more often in Baltimore. To my eye, Robinson looks uncomfortable in interior alignments and has a stiff, awkward get-off from a four-point stance. He’s also 257 pounds and lacks extraordinary strength to make up for it. He gets eaten by double teams, making him an easy target on the interior.
Robinson has the strength and length for an effective bull rush, but he lacks the mass to follow through and drive blockers back into the pocket. “Get him in an NFL weight room” is much easier said than done, especially for a player already coming out of an SEC program. Adding mass to his frame could impact his game and potentially take away things the Ravens like! Robinson looks far more comfortable on the edge, where he uses his length most effectively – for example, deploying a reliable long-arm as a pass-rusher. If he can unfurl his length before a blocker gets to him, he can hold the point of attack and shed blocks in the run game. Otherwise, he can get washed out of plays too easily or get caught leaning; he’s so long that he plays high and takes his lower body out of the encounter.
His pass-rushing needs serious development, too. While Robinson can really win with his length, that’s about it. He can’t get low enough in his stance to really fire off the ball and get around the edge, though he flashes the ability to bend or dip his shoulder to evade blockers. He doesn’t have moves or much of a plan; it’s a lot of charging into blockers and then trying to win instead of setting up moves and using counters.
I also worry about his fit in Baltimore’s base 3-4 defense. At best, he’s a designated pass rusher and 4-3 defensive end like Yannick Ngakoue, who had the talent but couldn’t find a role in Baltimore. If Chuck Smith can fully tap into his frame and athleticism, Robinson could be an impact pass rusher, but he’s not the kind of DE project the Ravens have had success with in the past.
Alternate pick: Villiami Fehoko/Olusegun Oluatimi
Villiami Fehoko is exactly the kind of versatile DE prospect the Ravens have historically developed well, though, using his power, motor and moves to generate a ton of backfield production in his college career. I also would have liked Michigan center Olusegun Oluwatimi here, my Day 3 OL pick in our Roundtable Rankings.
Jared Pinder
Grade: B-
Going edge here is not the worst thing in the world, but Robinson seems like a slight reach here. He has an interesting story, as he wasn’t even supposed to be playing football in the U.S. right now. He was supposed to be playing in Canada but chose to go the college route after the pandemic. He went to Ole Miss, where he slowly improved until he broke out this year. He was a great tester, scoring a nice RAS score, and showed explosiveness on tape, but he only had one year of sound production and is an older prospect. This is why I consider this pick a bit of a reach, but I will credit the Ravens for choosing a different approach by picking an athlete over production late.
Alternate pick: Darius Rush
The Ravens have needed a corner throughout the draft, and Rush was the last one available in the tier two category. Rush is a big, fast, explosive corner with physicality that sometimes puts up better tape than his teammate Cam Smith. For some reason, Rush fell, and for whatever reason, the Ravens said no to him multiple times until the Colts picked him up. While adding an explosive edge is nice, I would have gone with Rush instead.
Zachary Siegel
Grade: B-
Before the draft, Robinson was not really on my radar, so I did not know much about this prospect until he got selected. The term that keeps getting thrown around is “heavy hands” and after watching his film, I see it. Robinson is a very different player profile than Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo: he is longer and more of a brute force. That being said, he is unrefined, and similarly to Ojabo and Oweh he will need a lot of work if he is going to get around those big NFL tackles. The player comparisons given to Robinson are very flattering, giving him the praise of Za’Darius Smith and Pernell McPhee, two players who did a lot for Baltimore and we would be lucky if he turned out like either of them.
I am a big fan of the way that he attacks the ball; with 44 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, and 7 sacks, he was flying around the field. Robinson’s natural instincts along with his physical gifts are what lead him to be so successful at Ole Miss. This is just another addition to an already very stout defensive line, and I cannot wait to see what Macdonald does with him.
Alternate pick: Yasir Abdullah
I was very high on Yasir Abdullah here, with 63 total tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, and 9.5 sacks, and he was still on the board when Baltimore took Robinson. Now, don’t get it twisted, these two players are very different: Abdullah is 6-foot-1 and 242 lbs, while Robinson is 6-foot-6 and 257 pounds. While statistically Abdullah has a slight edge, Robinson gives the Ravens length and strength that Abdullah simply does not have.
Kevin McNelis
Grade: B-
The good news is that Tavius Robinson adds depth to the EDGE group in the form of a behemoth at 6’6″ and 260 pounds. The concern comes in with how raw a prospect his is at the position, and that Baltimore didn’t wait to snag him later on. The consensus for Robinson’s landing spot was around the 200s in most mocks, and he’s going to really have to deliver at the high end of his potential to justify his selection here.
Alternate pick: Nick Herbig/Yasir Abdullah
Salt in the wound on this one is that Herbig landed in Pittsburgh following the Ravens’ pick. While Robinson holds the size advantage on Herbig and Abdullah, both appear to be more polished prospects.
Brennan Stewart
Grade: A-
An edge was exactly what the Ravens needed going into this draft, but it is interesting to see Robinson currently listed at weakside linebacker on the depth chart considering at Ole Miss he was primarily positioned at defensive end. Either way, Justin Madubuike is the only LDE, and Jeremiah Moon is the only player behind Broderick Washington at RDE, so I expect to see Robinson shifted around quite a bit on the defensive line especially if injuries arise.
Robinson tied Houston’s D’Anthony Jones for most forced fumbles (5) in the nation last season, and his seven sacks ranked him 6th highest in the SEC. No player in the fourth round is ever perfect, but if Robinson can develop his play recognition ability under Macdonald, he could become a valuable asset as this defensive line looks to achieve the same accolades that it did up and through the early 2000s.
Alternate pick: Isaiah McGuire
Robinson is my preferred pick at this spot in the draft, as long as he is used the way he was at Ole Miss. If not, then maybe this pick should have been used for a pure defensive end. There was a string of DEs picked soon after Robinson, but among them I was most impressed by Isaiah McGuire who went to the Browns two picks after the Ravens selected. At Mizzou, McGuire was as talented as rushing the pass as he was defending the run. Last season he piled on 7.5 sacks, earning a spot on the All-SEC Second Team.
Rob Shields
Grade: B
Robinson was a surprise pick to most but the Ravens are always looking to add to their defensive line in the draft. He had a very productive senior (you don’t usually see seniors anymore) season playing in the best conference in football. He has some ability and maybe Chuck Smith can tap into some of his potential. No issues with this pick even though I know a lot of people wanted a corner but it’s not like a corner here is some definitive starter or even contributor. He had a very good RAS score, so the athleticism and upside is there.
Alternate pick: Darius Rush
A CB that was amongst the “best available players” for a while before he was drafted. Upside was there at a position of need.
Cumulative Grade: B-
