Aldrick Robinson Scouting Report

Aldrick Robinson has been SMU's big play receiver for the last three years. Other receivers may catch more passes, but it has always been Robinson who makes a majority of the big plays. The 5-10 speedster should have a future in the NFL as a slot receiver. Even as a freshman (when Robinson saw very little playing time) he was still making big plays. He only caught ten passes back in 2007, but those ten receptions went for 166 yards.

It was as a sophomore when Robinson came into his own. Fellow receiver Emmanuel Sanders caught more passes, but it was Robinson who became just the fourth receiver in SMU history to eclipse the 1,000 yard mark. On the year Robinson averaged an impressive 17.7 yards per catch and reached the end zone on 11 occasions. Robinson saw his numbers dip in 2009 as Sanders took on a bigger role, but Robinson still averaged 17.0 yards per catch and had 47 receptions. Robinson saved his best season for last. The Mustangs' passing attack was extremely effective in 2010 and amazingly Robinson was third on the team with 60 receptions. However, he did lead the team in receiving yards with 1,225 and became the only player in SMU history to eclipse the 1,000 yard receiving mark in a season on two occasions. Robinson also added 13 touchdown receptions to his ever growing resume.

Robinson will turn some heads with his speed. That, along with his impressive collegiate production, should get him drafted. However, unless he shows NFL teams that he can get stronger in a hurry and perform well against tougher corners, he will likely stay in the later rounds of the 2011 NFL Draft.

3/27 Update: As expected, Robinson ran pretty well at the NFL combine. He was timed at 4.43 in the 40-yard-dash, which was not his best effort, but obviously not too bad either. Robinson needed to run better if he wanted to move his stock up from the later rounds. He is a proven athlete and a productive player, but he will not be more than a slot receiver in the NFL and that will keep him down in the fifth or sixth round.