After adding veteran wide receiver Allen Robinson II via a swap of seventh-round picks from the Los Angeles Rams ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft, intrigue is certainly high for the new Pittsburgh Steelers pass catcher.
Robinson is stepping into a solid situation overall, coming in as the No. 3 receiver in Pittsburgh behind veteran Diontae Johnson and second-year pro George Pickens, while also pairing with second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett in an offense that should be — at least on paper — much better in 2023.
Pegged as the slot receiver in Pittsburgh that the franchise has desperately needed since losing JuJu Smith-Schuster in free agency last offseason, Robinson has a real opportunity in front of him to rebound from a rough last two seasons in the NFL.
For ESPN Senior Writer and Fantasy Football expert Eric Karabell thought, Robinson is a player to avoid in the fantasy football landscape. Karabell stated Thursday in a piece that it’s time for fantasy football players to move on from Allen Robinson due to his last two seasons in the NFL in even better situations, where he was the No. 1 receiver in Chicago in 2021, and then was in a loaded Los Angeles Rams offense in 2022.
“Unlike Odell Beckham and Michael Thomas, who are being drafted in virtually all ESPN standard leagues, Robinson is the forgotten one, rostered in barely 3% of leagues. This is wise,” Karabell writes stating that Robinson won’t bounce back in 2023. “Most of you likely did not realize the former Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago Bears star landed with the Steelers. His last decent season was 2020. Move on.”
Ouch.
It’s not off base from Karabell regarding Robinson in fantasy football, either.
No, Robinson will be a solid contributor to the Steelers offensively in key situations, but he shouldn’t be a player fantasy football players are banking on late in drafts at a valuable position like wide receiver.
The issue the last two seasons, outside of health, with Robinson has been his struggles with creating separation. He’s certainly had issues separating the last two seasons, but he also hasn’t played with quarterbacks that move the needle, outside of half a season with Matthew Stafford in Los Angeles. In the last two seasons combined, Robinson has had to work with quarterbacks like Baker Mayfield, John Wolford, Bryce Perkins, Andy Dalton, Nick Foles and a developing Justin Fields.
Not exactly a group that is moving the needle overall.
Pickett certainly feels like an upgrade overall all of those — outside of Stafford — as a passer.
While Robinson has mostly played on the outside during his career, he has the skill set to move inside on a full-time basis in Pittsburgh, with a good understanding of finding the open spaces and embracing the physicality that comes with playing over the middle at times. If he can contribute 500-plus yards with a handful of touchdowns and maybe 8-10 conversions on possession downs, he’ll have been well worth the investment for the Steelers on the field in the actual games.
From a fantasy football perspective, it’s a wait and see approach though. Like Karabell says: move on.
