'Dominant' Greg Robinson heads for top of the NFL Draft

AUBURN – There are a handful of common words NFL Draft analysts have used to describe Greg Robinson.

Raw. Upside. Dominant.

They're all fitting ways to describe the 6-foot-5 327 pound Robinson, who will almost certainly be among the top six picks during the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday and become Auburn's highest selection since Cam Newton went first overall in 2011.

"There's nobody in this year's draft, or last year's draft, or in the last eight drafts, that has the power that he has," ESPN's Todd McShay said last week. "He's the most dominant point-of-attack player in the offensive line that I've ever evaluated."

Robinson was a bulldozer on the left side for Auburn last season and the team that picks him on Thursday will hope it has protected its quarterback's blind side for the long haul.

Jacksonville (No. 3 pick), Cleveland (No. 4), Oakland (No. 5) and Atlanta (No. 6) all ranked in the bottom 10 of the NFL in sacks allowed last season. While St. Louis (No. 2) fared better, the Rams were among the lowest in pass attempts and protecting Sam Bradford is a concern as he enters his fifth year in the league.

Pass protection is an aspect of Robinson's game that was far less utilized by Auburn's run-heavy attack last year.

"He needs to work on his pass protection technique," ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. said last week. "He is still sloppy in pass protection, and he had some issues in pass protection, which is obviously something that has to be corrected and has to be maximized once he gets to the NFL."

Robinson worked on footwork and technique during Auburn's Pro Day and in individual workouts with teams.

"(Team scouts) said we didn't work out of a three-point stance much here," Robinson said. "So they put me in three-point stance and seeing me pull and shoot my hands and stuff because they seen on film I would expose my chest."

The issues analysts have with Robinson are all fixable and not due to lack of ability, just lack of practice.

"He holds too much, he's got to work on his hand placement, and he's got to work on his technique and awareness in pass protection," McShay said. "But everything that you need to have in terms of tool set, skill set, however you want to put it, he has.

"I've seen him redirect as quickly as you're going to see an offensive tackle. The awareness, the natural instinct in picking up late twists and X stunts and all the things that are hard to pick up, I've seen him do it."

This year's crop of offensive tackles is loaded with Michigan's Taylor Lewan and Texas A&M's Jake Matthews also strong candidates to land in the top 10 and Notre Dame's Zack Martin further down the board. All of them are more experienced than Robinson, who left Auburn as a third-year sophomore.

"Robinson is the one with the highest upside," NFL Network's Mike Mayock said last week, "but also the one you'll be most concerned about because he's a little bit more raw."

Tackles have becoming increasingly valuable as the NFL continues to become a more passing oriented league.

With five tackles drafted in the first round last year, including three of the first four picks, and another loaded class this year, it's become more about finding the best one rather than any option.

Robinson appears to be the "one" this year.

"I think he's at a different level than anybody else," McShay said. "I think the questions start with Matthews versus Lewan or some of the other guys in this class. I think you have to go Robinson.

"It's a mistake if you don't take a chance on him."