Draft History Abridged:
Jon Robinson is a good drafter.
Jon Robinson is a damn good drafter.
Since taking over, Robinson has completely overhauled a roster that had won a combined five games in two seasons prior to his arrival, and turned it into an AFC-championship contending team, primarily through his picks in the draft.
He’s found regular starters and potential stars along every level of the defense, while adding offensive stars like AJ Brown, Jack Conklin, and Derrick Henry to build a title contender in just four years on the job.
He’s not without his mistakes, but those missteps feel few and far between when looking at his draft resume at large and seeing all the young talent he’s added over such a short time.
There’s a method to the man’s madness, too. When you spend FAR too much time looking at draft history like I spent most of today doing, you start to notice common themes from each of Robinson’s drafts.
For example, Robinson doesn’t mind using picks as capital, and getting rid of draft choices in order to climb the latter for a guy he likes.
The guys he likes, typically come from the offensive line or EDGE rushers. Since 2016, Robinson has drafted five players from each of those positions. He’s tried to load up on late-round pass-rushers, while building towards the team’s run-oriented offensive identity.
So using all we’ve learned about Robinson, it might be worth trying to figure out what he’ll do when it comes time for the 2020 Draft.