The Rams’ receiving corps has been led by Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods for the last five years, but Woods has been subbed out for Allen Robinson, whom Los Angeles signed in free agency. Robinson is a different type of receiver, bringing great length and physicality to the positions.
He uses that to make contested catches seemingly every week, one of his best traits.
Robinson sat down with J.B. Long on the “Rams Revealed” podcast to share what he brings to the Rams offense.
“I think I bring big-play ability,” he said. “Being able to have contested plays, being able to have a lot of 20-plus-yard catches. Being able to bring a little bit of that basketball mentality to the field.”
Making contested catches requires physical skills, but it’s also instinctual and requires a tough mindset to go up and make a grab in traffic. Robinson works hard at that during the offseason, and it’s why he has the most contested catches in the NFL since 2018 (71).
“So much of it is instinct, but I would say a big thing of it is body position, body control,” he said. “And also, as far as my offseason training, those are things that I take very seriously when it comes to my balance, being able to adjust to balls in the air. Being able to have that body control coming down and things like that.”
The hope with joining the Rams is that he doesn’t have to make as many catches with defenders draped all over him. Sean McVay might be the best coach in the NFL when it comes to route combinations and scheming receivers open, which Robinson is excited about.
Kupp and Woods were both in the top 16 in average separation last season, and Matthew Stafford’s aggressiveness (12.1%) rate was the fourth-lowest in the NFL; that measures how often a quarterback throws into tight windows.
“Being able to get some stuff schemed up where I can catch the ball on the move,” Robinson said. “Get some yards after the catch, being able to make some explosive plays that way, as well. Definitely looking forward to that and just watching their offense in prior years, seeing how things are drawn up, seeing the space that is created against one and things like that and the matchups they scheme up against man, so I’m definitely looking forward to that.”
On paper, Robinson should be a great fit in the Rams offense. He said he’ll be working with Stafford this offseason to develop chemistry and a rapport on the field, which worked well for Kupp in his first season with Stafford.