Notre Dame added the cherry on top of their wide receiver class with the addition of Brayden Robinson. He’s a prospect who has been incredibly productive at his high school program (79 catches, 1,119 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior) and it’s largely due to his electric speed (PR of 10.45 100m).
He’s a playmaker with the potential to add more explosive plays to Notre Dame’s offense and special teams.
Height: 5’8”
Weight: 165
Projected Position: Slot receiver
ISD Grade: 90 (4-star)
National Average Grade: 90.0 (4-star)
What he does best:
Robinson has the kind of speed that will force teams to respect any kind of jet motion he is involved in. He has great acceleration and can do a lot of damage if a defense isn’t playing sound on the perimeter.
He’s a good option in the screen game and is slippery when defensive backs have to tackle him in space.
He’s a potential deep threat who can exploit a bad matchup without help over the top.
He might end up bringing the most value in the return game where he is capable of taking it the distance.
What he needs to improve:
He’s going to have to develop into a great route runner in order to gain separation. Although I love his compete level in contested catch situations, those opportunities are going to be a lot more difficult at his size in college.
Adding weight and strength will be critically important for him.
What’s his ceiling?
Notre Dame has compared Robinson to former Cincinnati WR Tre Tucker and it makes a ton of sense. Also diminutive in size, he became a weapon in Mike Denbrock’s offense in the screen game and as an extension of the running game. He also was very dangerous in the return game with a couple of kick returns for touchdowns.
Notre Dame fans may recall that he was one of the rare receivers who was able to beat Kyle Hamilton deep when they were matched up against each other in the slot.
Tucker was 5-9 167 as a true freshman, but was 185 by his senior season. I don’t know if Robinson can get that big, but the ideal scenario for him is to follow a similar path of development to the one Tucker experienced while working with Mike Brown.
There will likely always be limitations to his game because of his size, but Denbrock and Brown helped turn Tucker’s speed into him being drafted on day two of the NFL Draft. That’s the ideal scenario for Robinson.
Who he could be:
Former Cincinnati WR Tre Tucker
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