FINAL TRADE: Washington trades a defensive end to the Detroit Lions.
While Aiden Hutchinson continues to rise among the NFL’s finest pass rushers, the Detroit Lions barnstormed to the Super Bowl last season. However, they may want to acquire the ideal complement to their young rusher in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Lions’ pass-rush was far from stellar in the previous season; with only 41 sacks, it finished as the 10th-fewest in the league, with Hutchinson accounting for 11.5 of those sacks.
The Lions are in a great position to pursue Penn State’s Chop Robinson, one of the most potent pass-rushers in this year’s class, so assistance may be on the way.
Robinson transferred from the University of Maryland before to the 2022 season, and throughout the next two seasons at Happy Valley, his exceptional athleticism has been on full show.
Robinson recorded 31 total tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, and 9.5 sacks in 22 games while wearing the Penn State uniform.
Robinson may be a perfect match to line up opposite Hutchinson on the Lions’ defensive line, according to ESPN’s Matt Miller. In his most recent mock draft, Miller forecasts Robinson to be selected by the Lions with the 29th overall choice in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Miller says, “The Lions stick to their board.” “That meant playing off-ball linebacker and running back in Round 1 in 2023. However, I believe Detroit is going for a premium spot this year. Robinson can get on offensive tackles as soon as the snap thanks to his lightning-fast (4.48 in the 40) and first-step quickness. Although he only had four sacks in his final season in college, his performance was modest, this is a wager on his potential and explosion. His skill set contrasts well with Aidan Hutchinson.
Chop Robinson NFL Draft Scouting Report
Hutchinson shown the importance of having a top-tier pass-rusher, but the 49ers, Eagles, and other best teams in the league have shown that a strong pass-rush combination is one of the most important factors in determining a defense’s direction.
Robinson can be a problem for opposing offensive tackles and a game-changer in the pocket because of his exceptional get-off and bend off the edge.
Lance Zierlein of NFL Media describes Robinson as a “edge defender who offers the type of elite athleticism we’ve seen from players like Micah Parsons and Myles Garrett.” While Robinson isn’t quite as quick as Parsons, he’s still rather close. He has the explosiveness to quickly climb over opponents and overpower them since he is extremely twitchy.