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The Chicago Bears are Justin Fields’ team – for now. The jury is still out on him, but the Bears definitely have him installed as their no. 1 quarterback, the most important player on the team heading to the 2022 NFL season. But Chicago didn’t get him a lot of help via the draft. They even lost one of their best downfield weapons with wide receiver Allen Robinson leaving Windy City for Hollywood, signing a fresh deal with the reigning and defending Super Bowl champions Los Angeles Rams.
The 2022 NFL Draft was supposed to be where the Bears reload on top wide receiver prospects following a season in which they ranked near the bottom of the NFL in terms of scoring offense, pass play percentage, completion rate, and passing yards per game, among others. Chicago could have also its early picks on offensive line help, as the Bears had one of the worst quarterback protection in 2021. Instead, the Bears spent their first two picks on defensive pieces before coming around and getting new pieces for their offense for their next two selections. None of those picks is the sleeper we are about to put a focus on here. That player is defensive end Dominique Robinson, taken in the fifth round as the 174th draftee overall.
Bears Rookie Sleeper For 2022 NFL Season
There’s a lot to talk about why Robinson is a sleeper. Apart from the fact that he’s a fifth-round selection, he was also relatively new to his position as a defensive player. In fact, when he came to the Miami (OH) RedHawks, he was originally a quarterback. Then in his first season with the program, he was converted into a wide receiver. It was only during his senior year in college that Robinson first got on the defensive side of the ball, as he was assigned to the position of defensive end. He’s never looked back since, collecting 18 solo tackles and 6.5 sacks in 18 games while operating as a full-time defensive player for the RedHawks – and without even starting a single game.
At 6-5 and 270+ pounds, Robinson has the frame to survive banging bodies in the pros. He’s still got plenty of space to improve, but the ceiling is there for him. His size along with great speed (ran 40 0.2 faster than Aidan Hutchinson) are fantastic baselines for this rookie who could potentially be a cornerstone of the Bears’ defense down the road. Chicago would not have taken a player with a lack of experience on defense like Robinson, even with a late pick, if the front office was not convinced that he could return fantastic value.
Here’s what a Bears scout said about Robinson, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN:
Bears area scout Brendan Rehor on Dominique Robinson: “The athlete stands out the most. I think there's only upside with this kid, which is what we're betting on and what we invested in…there's only upside, there's only athletic ability. There's a lot of stuff to work with.”
The Bears finished last season with the best defensive sack rate in the league, but they are now without Khalil Mack (traded to the Los Angeles Chargers) and Eddie Goldman (released), so there are voids need to be covered on the Bears’ stop unit that the team hopes Robinson will help provide. If anything, Chicago appears to be open to giving Robinson a big room to prove that he’s going to be a perfect fit for the Bears’ defense.
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Via Alyssa Barbieri of USA TODAY:
“We’re not going to limit him, and say, ‘You know what, he hadn’t played defensive end very long, so we’re only going to do this,’” Williams said. “With all our guys, we’re going to give them very specific roles, see how far they can take it, and then let them do it on Sundays. Then, keep pushing and keep pushing and keep pushing, and see what their limits are, and see how far they can take it. Right now, with good players, you don’t limit them… you set the bar high and you’d be surprised at how far they can go.”
Robinson is not going to be a Day 1 starter, but as he learns to adapt to the environment at the pro level and picks up more and more tricks behind the likes of 2021 Bears sacks leader Robert Quinn and Trevis Gipson, it will just be a matter of time before he blossoms into a jackpot find for Ryan Poles.
