Welcome To The Big Show: Josh Robinson

Brett Anderson |

May 2, 2012

Welcome to part three of our ten part series called “Welcome to the Big Show” where we give you an in-depth look into each of the Vikings ten Draft selections of 2012. Last time, Adam highlighted our second pick of the 2012 Draft, safety Harrison Smith. Today, we’ll take a look at the Vikings third round pick, cornerback Josh Robinson.

Player Info

Name: Joshua Robinson
Position: CB
College: University of Central Florida

Personal History

Josh Robinson was born in Sunrise, Florida on January 8th, 1991 to Shirley and Johnny Robinson. He attended Plantation High School in Florida and was an integral part of the school’s football program, excelling at receiver, cornerback and returning kicks. Robinson enjoyed being at receiver the most because he just wanted to have his hands on the ball.

Robinson chose to attend the University of Central Florida, turning down various scholarship offers from other schools, including Michigan, Clemson, South Florida and Auburn. Robinson has said that he chose to go to UCF because of the location and the fact that they allowed him to play multiple positions and have playing time immediately. Robinson studied Criminal Justice in school with aspirations of someday being involved with SWAT.

It goes without saying that Robinson had a very successful career at UCF. Throughout college, he received a multitude of accolades, awards and honors. Throughout his college tenure, he started in 35 of 38 games for the Knights. In the 2011 season, Robinson “earned second-team All-American honors from The NFL Draft Report and was named All-Conference USA first-team by the league’s coaches…”

Robinson’s favorite NFL player, Brian Dawkins, is the reason the young cornerback chooses to wear the number 20. When asked in a 2009 interview what professional team he would want to play the most in the future, Robinson responded, “I would like to play against the Eagles because I want to pick off McNabb.” (Sorry Josh, interceptions can’t bounce off the ground first…)

The Attributes:

Height: 5’-10”
Weight: 199 lbs.
Arm Length: 31 ¼”
Hand Size: 9 ¼”
40 Yard Dash: 4.33 sec. (Fastest time at the 2012 NFL Combine)
Bench Press: 17 reps
Vertical Jump: 38.5”
Broad Jump: 133”
3 Cone Drill: 6.55 sec.
20 Yard Shuttle: 3.97 sec.
60 TD Shuttle: 11.65 sec.
Reported Wonderlic Score: n/a

The Skills:

Strengths:
+ Incredible speed
+ Very athletic
+ Fluid hips
+ Good tackler
+ Hard worker
+ Durable (No injury history)
+ Good character
+ Exceptional hands
+ Effective in zone or man coverage

Weaknesses:
– Small size
– Weak in press coverage
– Physicality
– Gambler, tries to jump routes too often

College Production

Name	Position	Injury	Wed.	Thur.	Fri.	Status	Gameday
Brandon Fusco	OL	Concussion	DNP	Limited	Full	Questionable	Active
Shemar Stephen	DT	Knee	Full	Full	Full	Probable	Active

College Highlights

(Josh Robinson covering A.J. Green)

Another great video but it is not embedded because of the language used in its music. Too bad as it has some great highlights. Click here to check it out anyway.

The Selection

With their first pick in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings selected Josh Robinson. The selection did not come as a huge surprise considering it is well known that the Vikings had one of the worst secondaries in the NFL last year. Robinson was predicted to go anywhere from the late first to the early third so the pick represents pretty good value for the Vikings.

Generally, the pick was received well by fans. There are some people though who feel the Vikings should have instead worked hard to move up into the tail end of the second round to address another glaring need at receiver.

Josh Robinson learned of the pick while at a draft party at his family’s church. The Vikings spoke with Robinson after the combine but didn’t have much contact with him from then on.

(Update: Found this great video of Josh and his family and friends celebrating the selection.)

Scouting Reports

Sideline Scouting
NFL Draft Scout
FF Toolbox
NFL Draft Geek
National Football Post
Draft Ace

Quotes

Robinson on his strengths: “I can react quickly. I have a quick reaction, and of course everyone has speed at the next level so I never really say that as a strength, but I always tell everybody that I’m versatile. I can do whatever you want me to do, whether it’s be a safety, or guard the flat, whether it be man, zone, anything. That’s something that I’ve done at UCF, the ability to play all the special teams, that’s just something that has helped me throughout my career.”

Robinson on his motivation for coming out as a junior: “My primary motivation was that I could get it done, that I have the ability to be a shut down corner, one of the best corners to play the game. That was something that really motivated me, to want to pursue this career, and try and accomplish my goals.”

Spielman on Robinson’s biggest challenge coming into the NFL: “I think the biggest thing is, just like all of these guys, just cleaning up their technique. Joe (Woods) is a great defensive backs coach. (Defensive Coordinator) Alan Williams is a defensive backs coach, our defensive coordinator, and Leslie’s (Frazier) background with defensive backs, those guys can do a lot of things if they have the ability to work with and this kid definitely has that ability.”

Spielman on Robinson’s tape: “Just looking back and going through the tape, the foot speed and the quickness and how he can flip his hips. The burst out of his transition to close back underneath. The unique trait of anticipation and knowing when a receiver is going to break and his ability to get out of his transition and close to the ball. He can recover quickly if he does get a step behind a receiver.”

Where He Fits

Robinson should not be expected to start immediately at cornerback. With the addition of a couple free agents during the offseason, it’s safe to assume that Robinson will have the biggest chance of being on the field for kick or punt returns due to his elite speed. It is also probable that he could see the field in dime package situations if he can impress in camp. As always, there is the possibility that Robinson could blow the Vikings coaches away and become an immediate starter for the team.

Grades

Brett’s Grade: B
Adam’s Grade: B