Why Dolphins took Chop Robinson No. 21 in NFL draft - ESPN

MIAMI — Chris Grier learns from his scars.

The Miami Dolphins general manager saw how quickly a depleted pass rush can tank a season in 2023, when his team lost its top three pass-rushers (Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb and Andrew Van Ginkel) to season-ending injuries. So, he spent his first first-round pick since 2021 on Penn State pass-rusher Chop Robinson at No. 21 overall.

Grier told reporters Thursday that Robinson was the highest-rated player on their board at the time, and someone they'd been targeting since early in the draft process. But he also fills a position of need, particularly after the departures of Emmanuel Ogbah and Van Ginkel.

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«I mean obviously you always look at your roster for what it is, but for us it was, like we've talked about, just adding the best players in the draft at that point,» Grier said. «He was rated as one of the top players in this draft for us, so adding him, especially rushing the passer in this league with all the great quarterbacks and the skill, the ability to rush with four and not have to blitz every down and stuff, that creates an advantage for the defense.

»So for us, he was a player that we had in high regard with high grades, for us to add him, we were again very excited to have him."

Robinson's explosive physical traits lend a comparison to another recent pass-rusher out of Penn State — the Dallas Cowboys' Micah Parsons.

Robinson ran a 4.48 40-yard dash — the second-fastest time among his position group in this year's draft class (Parsons ran a 4.36). But despite his athleticism, he only recorded 11.5 sacks in three