My new draft-crush: WR Allen Robinson - Penn State

[Attyla the Hawk]

I wanted this guy so bad. But he wasn't a fit for Pete's WR profile.

Definitely one of the downsides of the draft is having a favorite prospect you know will kill it, but watching your team pass on them because they don't fit the profile.

Well, to be fair though -- if he doesn't fit, then it likely stands to reason that he wouldn't be close to as productive here. If he's here and he's a 35 catch/400 yard kind of receiver do we think he's killing it?

If we can't maximize his contribution, then what he does elsewhere won't translate to us.

Robinson wasn't destined to turn into what he's become. It is a product of post draft development and opportunity/environment. He wouldn't necessarily have had he latter here to the same extent.

If Jerry Rice played for Mike Ditka instead of Bill Walsh, he likely gets buried on the bench because of his drops problems as a rookie. Ditka wouldn't have gone to bat for him like Walsh did. Where you go makes a huge difference.

Despite that, I still wanted Robinson. I liked him and Jordan Matthews in that class (guys that were still available when we traded down).

 

[Recon_Hawk]

I wanted this guy so bad. But he wasn't a fit for Pete's WR profile.

Definitely one of the downsides of the draft is having a favorite prospect you know will kill it, but watching your team pass on them because they don't fit the profile.

Well, to be fair though -- if he doesn't fit, then it likely stands to reason that he wouldn't be close to as productive here. If he's here and he's a 35 catch/400 yard kind of receiver do we think he's killing it?

If we can't maximize his contribution, then what he does elsewhere won't translate to us.

Robinson wasn't destined to turn into what he's become. It is a product of post draft development and opportunity/environment. He wouldn't necessarily have had he latter here to the same extent.

If Jerry Rice played for Mike Ditka instead of Bill Walsh, he likely gets buried on the bench because of his drops problems as a rookie. Ditka wouldn't have gone to bat for him like Walsh did. Where you go makes a huge difference.

Despite that, I still wanted Robinson. I liked him and Jordan Matthews in that class (guys that were still available when we traded down).

Allen Robinson might not have fit the profile of how Seattle wanted to spend its draft pick, but that doesn't mean his skillset wouldn't translate to this offense if he was playing for us. He's basically a better version of Jermain Kearse who Seattle's been fine with being a starter the last two years. Of course, I wouldn't expect Robinson to put up 1100 yards and 12 TDs in 13 games in Seattle's limited passing offense, but within this system, yeah, I have no doubt he'd be an exciting, productive receiver and would have given this team an awesome 3-wr set with Baldwin and Lockett.

Also, "a product of post draft development and opportunity/environment"??

That's a really discrediting thing to say. I mean, is JJ Watt just a product of being drafted by the Texans and Russell Wilson's only successful because he was drafted by Seattle?

At some point, you have to give credit to the player and skills they brought from the college level to the Pros.

 

[Attyla the Hawk]

Also, "a product of post draft development and opportunity/environment"??

That's a really discrediting thing to say. I mean, is JJ Watt just a product of being drafted by the Texans and Russell Wilson's only successful because he was drafted by Seattle?

They weren't meant to be exclusive. Obviously Watt was not the same player coming out that he's become. Had that been apparent, he's the #1 overall pick.

There are a lot of variables here. Obviously opportunity and fit are one. So is development and coaching. And so too is just the innate drive/nature of the prospect. They all play a part in developing a player. It's why Seattle likes to cast a wide net. That innate drive is not so easily determined. And generally isn't yet by the time they leave college.

Sometimes guys have the drive and for whatever reason -- can't blossom in the environment they are in. And then turn into a UFA steal when environment and drive and skill intersect better. Or equally they blossom in one environment and then turn into a UFA dud in another (like Maxwell).

The point is, Robinson is flourishing where he is. It didn't happen overnight. Or even in the first year. And maybe he doesn't emerge into a star in our system. There is more to turning draftees into stars. Because it works for one team doesn't mean it translates to another. I'm not inclined to think that one players success elsewhere would have automatically duplicated here in Seattle. Too many guys we've added or dropped have changed for the better or worse due to the change of environment. It's not corollary.

 

[Recon_Hawk]

I think it's reasonable to assume that since Allen Robinson is a good player with Jacksonville there's an increased chance he'd have been a good player with Seattle, too.

We really don't need to get into a discussion of Parallel Universes or possible butterfly affect lol

The whole point of looking back at what-could-have-been is to self-scout our own evaluations at the time and whether the team should have done/do things differently. You can't improve or change the process if we just attribute a players success to the fact he was drafted elsewhere.

 

[hawknation2015]

Robinson has become the new Michael Crabtree. Complete with a terrible 52% catch rate.