Allen Robinson
ADP: 89.7
WR: 31
Allen Robinson suffered a stress fracture in his foot during his rookie season last year, which cut short a campaign during which he caught 51 passes and made some highlight-reel catches. One beat reporter recently called him the team’s best receiver during OTAs and said he regularly made “wow” catches.
He’s emerged as the most popular fantasy pick among a collection of young wideouts on Jacksonville’s roster. Can he follow up an impressive rookie season with a fantasy-worthy second?
Buy: Vomhof
Not sold on the Allen Robinson hype yet? Don’t worry, there’s still room on the bandwagon.
I’m a big fan of the 2014 second rounder out of Penn State because:
- He’s young, turning just 22 years old on Aug. 24.
- He quickly emerged as Blake Bortles’ No. 1 read last season as a rookie
- He’s the heavy favorite to lead the Jaguars in catches this year.
- At 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, he has the physical tools to be a star. He ran a 4.47 40-yard dash and had a 42-inch vertical at his pro day.
But here’s the clincher: He’s cheap, with an ADP in the late seventh or early eighth of fantasy drafts. He’s the WR31, meaning you can get him as your WR3 or WR4. (Heck, there are three defenses going ahead of him!)
We got a glimpse of Robinson’s potential from Week 2 through Week 10 last year, when he racked up 39 catches for 548 yards and two touchdowns despite playing for the league’s worst offense. He had 60-plus yards in six of those nine games, as a struggling Bortles frequently locked in on him in the passing game.
The biggest knocks on Robinson are his team and his quarterback, but that’s not always the best criteria for judging young wide receivers. Josh Gordon lit up the league two years ago for the Browns with Brandon Weeden, Brian Hoyer and Jason Campbell throwing to him. And last year, DeAndre Hopkins had a breakout season for a Texans team that was coming off a two-win season and started Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback most of the year.
The Jaguars will likely remain a below-average offense this year—perhaps even downright bad—but they did invest in the O-line this offseason and they drafted promising running back T.J. Yeldon. The key, of course, will be Bortles, but at least Robinson already has earned his trust.
I think it’s quite feasible for Robinson to catch 75 balls this year and become the first Jaguar to reach the 1,000-yard mark since Jimmy Smith in 2005. In fact, that might just be his floor—and that’s why I’m buying him at his current price tag.
Sell: Andy
Quick, who led the Jacksonville Jaguars in targets last season… yep, you guessed it. Cecil Shorts, with 110. Now, who led the team in catches? Yep, Shorts again, with 53. Second? Yep, Allen … Hurns. Wait, what?
Yes, Allen Robinson was third on the team in targets with 81, third in yards with 548, third in targets with 81, third in receptions with 48. Shorts has moved on, but don’t forget about Marqise Lee, another fairly highly acclaimed WR who joined the Jaguars last season.
My point is this: Allen Robinson may be the hot name in the Jaguars WR corps right now, but let’s remember, this is a collection of okay players who put up okay numbers during okay rookie seasons playing with a rookie QB who was … just okay, at best.
I’ve got nothing against Robinson. He is big. And he did show flashes, sure. But I don’t see that he did all that much to separate himself from these other guys as the Jacksonville receiver you want to have. I could be wrong. But I have doubts about QB Blake Bortles developing into anything great and I have doubts about any of these receivers really standing out. There are reports out there that Hurns is close to earning the starting job penciled in for Lee and that Lee was given a rest Monday because he has had the highest workload of any receiver in camp and the team is worried about him overworking himself.
That tells me the whole group is going to get the chance to stand out. Nothing against Robinson – he may be the guy to emerge. But I haven’t seen enough of that situation to think it’ll result in any of the three being fantasy worthy.
Previous Buy/Sell: Amari Cooper
Next Buy/Sell: Melvin Gordon
Is Allen Robinson worth a ninth round pick in fantasy drafts?
- Absolutely - I'd grab him in a heartbeat. (86%, 12 Votes)
- Nah, too many maybes in that passing game. (14%, 2 Votes)
Total Voters: 14
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A healthy Allen Robinson could be just what you need for a later round pick in Fantasy Football this year!
He is good, but he is already being touted by the mainstream fantasy fooseball community as a ‘sleeper’. You know how it goes with guys like that, the ‘sleepers’ that are talked about so often that they no longer remain ‘sleepers’.