The Miami Dolphins took linebacker Chop Robinson in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft after a collegiate career split between Maryland and Penn State, where he earned All-Big Ten honors once.
Through his first two seasons with the Dolphins, he’s appeared in 32 games and played 48.7% of the team’s defensive snaps. He’s also recorded 47 tackles, 21 quarterback hits, 10 sacks, five passes defensed and a forced fumble.
Now, new Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley has some expectations for Robinson as he enters his third year in the NFL.
“Hopefully he becomes an every down player,” Hafley explained during a media availability this week. “I think the easy answer is his pass rush, his get off, his ability to affect the quarterback; but I’m looking for a lot more from Chop.
“He’s going to play a position where he’s going to line up in a 9-technique and play on tight ends and he has to set the edge; and he’s going to have to reduce down to a 6-technique and play through tight ends. He might reduce down and play a 5-technique. There’s going to be pass rush times when he’s going to be coming off the edge. We might slide him around, move him around to put him in good situations, but he needs to become a complete football player going into Year 3, and we have high expectations for him. We need to coach him, we need to develop him, but the guy’s got such a good attitude. He’s working so hard and I’m excited to see where that goes.”
As a former first-round pick, Robinson needs to be more productive and consistent if he wants to be considered and paid like one of the best in the league. Hafley is hoping that the new defensive system helps the linebacker take the third-year jump.
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This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Jeff Hafley reveals high expectations for Dolphins’ budding star
Reporting by Mike Masala, Dolphins Wire / Dolphins Wire
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By Mike Masala, Dolphins Wire | USA TODAY Network
