Hype on Robinson

NFL insider Jordan Schultz believes Rams WR Allen Robinson will have his best season to date in 2022. A-Rob once posted 80-1400-14, but that was back in 2015. So we’ll forgive Schultz for that one. Still, there’s a ton of hype behind Robinson’s bounce-back candidacy. And he’s certainly off to a strong start alongside Cooper Kupp. “We’ve been able to feed off each other off the get go,” Robinson said. “Being able to just sit down, talk football as we’re watching and going over different routes, seeing different angles. I think that’s the biggest thing is the two of us are guys that are very versatile across the board. We both can do a lot of different things and I think that gives us a tremendous advantage because it’s not predictable at all to what either of us will be doing when it comes to a particular concept.” The almost 29-year-old remains an upside WR2.

Robert Mays of The Athletic recently spent a couple of days at Rams training camp, and here was his "main takeaway" from the time: "The staff here is in love with Allen Robinson. From his approach in meetings to what he can give them in this offense. His route tree and where he can line up are more varied than they'd even hoped. Potential monster year incoming." We're not quite sure a "monster year" will be in order, given that incumbent #1 WR Cooper Kupp is coming off his own monster year (plus other talent on hand). But Robinson has undoubtedly landed in a good situation. And we're at least on board with liking him in fantasy football drafts.

Rams insider Cam DaSilva told us to expect a big bounce-back season from WR Allen Robinson. "I love the fit of Allen Robinson as the #2 receiver opposite [Cooper] Kupp," DaSilva said. "He's a different type of receiver than the Rams have had over the years ... bigger, physical receiver. He can stretch the field a little bit ... He can do pretty much everything in the offense. He's not gonna be strictly an 'X' receiver ... He can run the routes that Cooper Kupp can run. He's gonna run probably screen routes, too, and these little hitches ... I think he's gonna have probably one of his best seasons in the NFL this year with Matthew Stafford." DaSilva also noted that Stafford has gotten big seasons out of other big-bodied receivers like Calvin Johnson and Kenny Golladay. We're buying the bounce-back for Robinson, who cracks the top 20 WRs in our current PPR rankings. Check out the full interview with DaSilva -- also talking Stafford, Cam Akers and the Rams offensive line -- right here.

New Rams OC Liam Coen gave his early impressions of WR Allen Robinson. "I think his route tree is extremely expanded from probably years ago, or maybe what we've had our other receivers do," Coen said at minicamp. "I mean, he can run a lot of routes that Cooper [Kupp] can, you know – some of those option routes and choice routes and things that we asked Cooper to do – because he just has an unbelievable ability to play underneath, himself.” Robinson, 29 in August, looks primed for a rebound alongside Matt Stafford and Sean McVay. He profiles as a top-20 WR for the upcoming season.

Rams QB Matt Stafford likes what he's seen from WR Allen Robinson so far this offseason. "I've been very, very impressed with his ability to grasp our offense, his role in our offense," Stafford said. "His understanding even when he might miss something or mess something up, the reason is so sound on why he did something." Robinson is coming off an ugly 2021 but is in a prime bounce-back spot with a clear path to #2 WR duties in a strong Rams offense.

The Rams are signing WR Allen Robinson to a 3-year, $46.5 million deal. It's a particularly surprising move considering the money. The Rams obviously return Cooper Kupp, get Robert Woods back from his ACL tear and retain Van Jefferson. There had also been reports of the team being interested in re-signing Odell Beckham Jr. (whose Super Bowl ACL tear makes it unlikely that he begins the season on time). The investment in Robinson clearly points to the team believing the veteran wideout will rebound from his 2021 performance. We'll see whether it also indicates concern for Woods' recovery or means that Jefferson's role will shrink. Robinson could have landed in better situations for his target volume, but Matthew Stafford will easily be the best QB he has played with. Robinson has been going low in WR4 range of early best-ball drafts and remains a solid-to-good shot to take if he continues to go in that range.