Entering his age-30 season, veteran wide receiver Allen Robinson II finds himself in a relatively strong situation with the Pittsburgh Steelers and second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett after being acquired via trade ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Pickett under center, high-end weapons around him, and a return to full health has Robinson looking like a legitimate breakout candidate in 2023, at least according to The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly.
“It seems strange to label a soon-to-be-30-year-old, nine-year vet with more than 500 career receptions as a breakout player. But a healthy Robinson is primed to have his best season since back-to-back monster years with the Bears in 2019 and 2020 when he was one of the top pass catchers in the NFL,” Kaboly writes for The Athletic highlighting Robinson as the Steelers’ breakout candidate. “Robinson is fully recovered from foot surgery last year. He wasn’t even supposed to take part in OTAs but jumped in midway through and instantly had a connection with Kenny Pickett. The move to the slot shouldn’t be an issue, even though he struggled there last year with the Rams (25 percent of his snaps). His shiftiness and smarts will give the Steelers an option in the slot on third downs and in the red zone they haven’t had in some time.”
Robinson has had rather disappointing seasons the last two years in the NFL, one spent with Los Angeles and his final season in Chicago in 2021. In those two seasons combined, Robinson — who was a Pro Bowl receiver in 2015 with the Jacksonville Jaguars with Blake Bortles as his quarterback — recorded 71 receptions for 749 yards and four touchdowns.
That’s a significant drop-off from what Robinson used to be during his tenure with the Jaguars and Bears. He hasn’t exactly played with the best of quarterbacks in the last two seasons, or been a picture of health, either.
The issue the last two seasons, outside of health, has been Robinson’s struggles with creating separation. He’s certainly had issues separating the last two seasons, but he also hasn’t played with quarterbacks who 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.
Pickett certainly feels like an upgrade over 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. 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 in the actual games.
But so far, at least during the offseason, Robinson appears to be rejuvenated with the move to the Steelers, landing in a strong situation overall not only offensively with the pieces in place, but for a coaching perspective as well, getting the chance to finally play for head coach Mike Tomlin. The strong situation for the former Penn State star, along with a return to full health, could lead to Robinson bouncing back in a big way from his struggles the last two seasons.
