Wan'Dale Robinson - Kentucky

Overview:

Strengths:

1. Elusiveness - Can make anyone miss in the open field. Wan'Dale is a true gadget player, and should be utilized as such in the NFL.

2. Single-Step Route Breaks - This may seem surprising given Wan'Dale's prototype of making guys miss through shiftiness, but his single-step route breaks are incredible and superior to when he attempts to dance too much. He can maintain full speed and cut a surprisingly high number of degrees to change direction on a dime. This helps tremendously in crossing patterns of 10+ yards because he can cut through any open space allowed by the safeties in an instant.

3. Deceleration - Wan'Dale's ability to stop in his tracks from full speed is incredible. This is beneficial for acute change of direction, stop-start ability with the ball in his hands, and mid-range routes after selling the go.

Weaknesses:

1. Physicality - Wan'Dale is slightly undersized with little apparent functional strength. He has a fair number of broken tackles throughout his career, but extended limbs slow him down more than they should in open space. He also will not reliably box out any defenders for contested catches. He can make catches and hold onto them in traffic, but not as well if the defender gets hands on him first.

2. Selling False Routes - He has the shiftiness to make this elite, but he just is not a stellar route runner against man currently. It is sufficient and overall above average in class, but he rarely gets a defender to step backwards in the opposite direction of his breaks.

3. Experience - This honestly could be considered a strength, but he has only ever had one season as a featured receiver. He played as a running back in a time share as a part of a heavy run offense with a highly mobile quarterback in 2019 and 2020. The transition can be seen with 88, 46, and 7 rushing attempts compared to 40, 51, and 104 receptions in 2019, 2020, and 2021, respectively. Due to a such recent transition, Wan'Dale has a small functional route tree. He could easily expand his route tree, improve his route running, and get more comfortable into press with practice. The upside with his skillset is there, but there are plenty of prospects with raw talent who do not take a leap to that next level. His ceiling likely has not been reached yet, but without seeing it yet, there is no way of knowing what that might become.

Grade: Early Third

Wan'Dale Robinson has the tools to become an excellent value at this price, but is too raw of a prospect to elicit an early pick. A team may take a chance on him in the second, but will have to coach him up and polish his game before he returns that value.

Film:

Iowa (01/01/2022): 10-170-0

Very quick feet. Great laterally off the line, and uses speed to get open on crossing patterns. Crazy good stop-start ability, and can make the acrobatic catch. Excellent sideline catch, his second diving catch of first half. Levis keeps not seeing how open Wan'Dale is. Slight counter movement on nearly every route before accelerating off of the line. Great inside block. Wan'Dale is frequently open deep from the slot. Weak upper body strength. Did not get any separation the few times he was manned. Excellent agility after the catch. Can catch the ball in traffic, but is definitely not a contested catch guy. Took a hard shot, but hung onto the ball.

Georgia (10/16/2021): 12-39-1

Dropped easy catch out of the backfield from turning head downfield before he caught the ball. Very good acceleration and shiftiness. Bobbled ball on jet sweep. Not even attempting to break head-on tackles. Fantastic move five yards out to get open against outside corner. Very little contact balance this game.

South Carolina (09/25/2021): 7-65-0

Very elusive with abrupt acceleration. Great acceleration and deceleration from full speed. Actually broke tackles on RAC, which would have lead to a touchdown if he had better contact balance.

Missouri (09/11/2021): 5-101-0

Caught from behind on 64 yard end-around quite easily. Does not use moves to rotate the hips of the defender in press. Could have done more with reception in open field if he did not stumble. Great deep diving catch. Excellent one cut change of direction on the move. Dropped pass. Solid move on the release to get open deep against press (or effectively soft press since he started off the line). He did not flip the defender's hips, but his abrupt acceleration was enough to gain an immediate step and stay open deep. He should be able to do this more, but it is not frequently seen on tape. Struggles to get separation when there is contact at the line.

Minnesota (12/12/2020): 6-41-0 (+ 8-49 rushing)

Great acceleration, but lacks top-end speed. Can get inside positioning against soft press in man due to explosive route breaks (which honestly could be better given his acceleration). Okay blocking, however irrelevant to the play. Maintains to speed while making cuts at the second level.

Coverage:

Press

Generally does not gain as much separation in press. His route running is very above average overall, and can inconsistently create the separation he needs, but Wan'Dale is generally better against other coverage types. Bubble screens are not as effective either as he does not shed head on tackles easily without making a move, which he usually does not have as much time to make in tight press. This is an area where he has the natural tools needed to improve.

Jam Response (in Press)

Rarely seen as he takes many snaps from Z, but any contact at the line slows his route significantly.

Soft Press

Solid overall against soft press. The ability to accelerate quickly in any direction gives him an edge deep. If he threatens the slant or quick out, then the defender must step up, making him less prepared to turn and run deep. That extra yard or two back from tight press makes a huge difference.

Squat

This depends on when the defender turns his hips. With all of the acceleration and shiftiness that Wan'Dale has, he surprisingly does not turn the defender's hips the wrong way with false moves. Again, this is an area where Wan'Dale can improve with coaching and practice. This said, if the corner plays off slightly and waits to move laterally off of Wan'Dale's first cut, then he has better success than if he anticipates the moves or gives too much respect to a certain route.

Off

Lateral quickness off the line will make any assignment have to pass off coverage. In strict man coverage, Wan'Dale can still get open on deeper crossing patterns. He lacks the physicality, size, and top-end speed to really be a threat down the sideline. Mostly playing from Z, he is rarely in outside off-man coverage, but he is always a threat to get targets near the LOS and make the defender miss in open space if given room.

Inside Zone

Not always the best at finding the hole in zone. Unable to box guys out, so he either needs to get the ball immediately after finding the hole, or keep moving. This is probably the most inconsistent area of his tape.

Route Distance:

Behind LOS

Great behind the LOS where he gets the ball frequently. Not big enough to always guarantee positive yardage, but shifty enough to break a big play. Needs to focus on catching before running to mitigate a minor drop issue.

0-5 yards

Decent separation on delayed routes starting from Z. Curls to be open in off-coverage frequently, where he can then turn and do a lot with the reception. Does not frequently play into press, but when he does, his route rarely finishes 0-5 yards out. As primarily a slot guy, Wan'Dale can get open in this range decently, but there is room to improve against shallow zone. Getting laterally off the line fast for drag routes can cause immediate separation, but given his innate shiftiness, he can work on his overall release more for better results.

5-10 yards

Excellent use of the flats and out routes, and could see more plays designed for him in this area. Any manufactured separation in this area is deadly with his ability to turn upfield quickly. He will not shake off press coverage and gain separation that way, although his innate ability in the open field would suggest that he can develop this skill with practice.

10-15 yards

Comeback routes with a pivot 10-15 yards out are excellent because of how quickly Wan'Dale can change direction. Many comeback routes in college were unfortunately against inside zone where he would run directly at the defender, turn around, and have virtually no separation. His single step 90 degree route breaks are excellent, gaining separation on routes that many other receivers would have rounded.

15-20 yards

Usually open on crossing routes of this distance. Has the speed and quick feet to alter the angle of the cross slightly to ensure that he goes to the biggest hole possible without running straight into a defensive back. Comeback routes with the pivot at this distance are almost always open because by this time, the defender has already turned to cover the go route, and Wan'Dale can use his abrupt deceleration to stop the route in its tracks.

20+ yards

Does not tend to get much deep separation from the outside. He can on deep crossing routes, but does not manufacture much in man. This is likely more a result of lacking top-end speed.

Blocking:

Willingness

Willing blocker, but rarely locks up a defender for any extended period of time. Blocked surprisingly little for having mobile quarterbacks, high volume rushing offenses, and playing inside so frequently. He was the lead block on a decent number of fake end-arounds, but the back rarely ran behind him. He is very willing to get in the way though, blocking many times where it was not even necessary on the play just in case.

Technique

If he wants any chance at even slowing down a linebacker at the next level, he is going to need to improve his stance significantly. With either a narrow base or standing too upright on many blocks, he will get run through in the NFL. His hand positioning is technically decent, but he gets little power from his elbows flaring as he effectively tries to grab the inside of the shoulder pads. Given his size and strength, he likely would have better success if he put more effort into rotating the shoulders of the defender by keeping one hand on the upper sternum and pushing the shoulder with the other so that the defender has to rotate through the contact instead of running straight, but that is admittedly not ideal technique.

Attributes:

Attributes		Grade (/10)	Notes
Separation	Short	7.5	Excellent at sprinting laterally off of the line. Could have a bit more body control when making moves against press, as well as finding the holes in zone more consistently, but this area of his game is overall quite strong.
	Medium	8.5	Gets very good separation when crossing over the middle of the field or running any sort of out route. Can stop abruptly and be open if given too much respect deep, and has incredible one step route cuts. He will not make a corner stumble from an impressive move, but is overall very solid in this area as well.
	Deep	7.5	Deep separation from the slot is adequate. He frequently finds himself with a step or two on the safeties. He does not get much deep separation in man, which is likely not as relevant considering how he will likely be used in the NFL. Lacks top-end speed to take significant advantage of steps he gains in man, but his speed is not poor by any means.
Release	Stance	9.5	Slight counter movement on many of his releases, but it does not actively hurt the route. It actually seems to help him accelerate. His starting stance could likely improve slightly so that this becomes less necessary, but it is not really a negative aspect of his gameplay in the slightest.
	Acceleration	9.5	Incredible acceleration. The only reason this is not a 10/10 is because some athletic freaks exist in the NFL who are slightly superior.
	Hip Control	8.5	Can drop or rotate hips to change direction very rapidly. Since this grade is purely based on line release, it is not quite elite. Selling false steps with his hips into man coverage could certainly be better, but he has all of the physical tools necessary to develop an exceptional release.
Hands	Catch Reliability	7	Fair share of easy drops, but overall reliable hands. While not his best trait, there is no reason for concern.
Hands	Catch Radius	4	5'11 and plays even smaller than that. 4/10 because he has his fair share of diving catches, but most receivers would not have to dive to catch the ball on some of those same plays. Contested Catch - Can hang onto the ball in traffic, which happened on crossing routes a fair amount, but will not high-point it over the defender. He does not possess the size to box out reliably, nor the reach to gain an advantage over outside corners. If he was not wide open underneath in zone, he would likely not get the target, especially after spending his career with quarterbacks who liked to tuck and run.
Versatility	Starting Position	7.5	Wan'Dale can start from the slot or out of the backfield. He is not ready to go up against NFL outside corners and currently has a limited route tree, but these factors may change quickly with practice.
Versatility	Overall Skill Set	7	His inability to have reliable success on the outside and smaller route tree hinder his overall skillset. While these are areas that likely are not as needed for his projected role, developing his game in all areas will be beneficial.
RAC	Athleticism	9	He is no next-level athletic freak, but he is still extremely athletic.
	Agility	9	His lateral acceleration and stop-start ability are excellent. He is frequently compared to his hometown friend Rondale Moore, and while he does not have quite that off-the-charts level of stop-start or change of direction ability, the comparison is not misplaced.
	Contact Balance	5.5	Broken tackle numbers are misleading for Robinson. He is so shifty, that most of the broken tackles are him shedding an outstretched arm. He will generally not run through solid contact, and falls over his own feet on occasion after being hit. That said, his contact balance specifically for his size is quite good overall as a former running back, but even extended arms can slow him down at times.
Awareness	Sideline	9.5	Wan'Dale has made enough difficult sideline catches for it to be apparent that he always knows where the boundary is.
	Defensive Scheme	5	His inconsistencies getting open against inside zone may be problematic. He will occasionally just run into a defender and turn around, whereas he can also at times really maximize the provided space. Excellent over the middle against zone, but does not always appear to alter the route based on coverage type. He may know more than his tape would indicate, but is focused on other factors as a relatively newer wide receiver.
	Improvisation	6.5	Generally stops running on route completion, but clearly knows how to improvise a play situationally. Little opportunity to showcase skills with quarterbacks who stop looking downfield while scrambling, but also knows how to make a lot out of a little if the play extends long enough.

Full Report:

Wan'Dale Robinson is a raw prospect who only recently has transitioned from running back to a full time receiver. He shined bright in 2021 with unbelievable shiftiness, playmaking ability, and surprisingly good hands in traffic. His one-step cuts in the open field to change direction without slowing down are elite, and he knows how to use this skill to get open on crossing patterns and out routes. That said, he is no route running extraordinaire. With how innately shifty he is, his footwork and comfort against man, especially press, could certainly improve. He mostly plays from Z, and shows an inconsistent ability to find the zone. This may be more due to inexperience, but it is something to monitor. He makes some impressive catches diving and in traffic, but has had his fair share of drops. A smaller catch radius requires him to make difficult catches at times, although he does not reliably box out defenders inside or go up and high-point contested catch opportunities on the outside. Once the ball is in his hands, he can make anyone miss. He will generally not break head on tackles and can get slowed down from extended limbs, but his ability to change direction without slowing down and stop on a dime always make him a threat for a big play. While he lacks top-end speed, he can accelerate to full speed again in just one or two steps after getting slowed. While likely a third round prospect, his tape shows a potential superstar if he works on his route running and can take that next step. His absolute floor is as a gadget player who can make a lot out of manufactured touches, but his ceiling can be so much more as a higher volume receiver who has the tools to thrive anywhere beyond the line of scrimmage as well as from the backfield. No team would be at fault for taking a chance on him in the second round, but he surely has his work cut out for him.

NFL Projection:

Likely

Wan'Dale will likely be a Z receiver who receives fewer snaps in his rookie year. He may still come in for manufactured touches and receive an opportunity on a high percentage of his snaps, but will not be utilized as a high-volume option.

Optimal

Ideally, he can develop into a true high-volume Z receiver on a team in need of a playmaker. He can threaten carries out of the backfield, and develop his route running traits enough to work the outside when necessary. He will always be a gadget player regardless of development elsewhere, but loading him with targets instead of treating him as a specialist behind the line of scrimmage will lead to more success. Taking a year with a lower snap percentage may still be beneficial as long as he is getting the proper experience and behind-the-scenes coaching.

2022 NFL Draft: Wide Receiver Deep Dive - Wan'Dale Robinson