Entering his 10th season in the NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers veteran wide receiver Allen Robinson II has seen it all at this point.
The ups, the downs, the team highs and lows. Healthy seasons and injury-plagued seasons.
With a new team, Robinson is again taking on a leadership role, this time in a relatively young room in Pittsburgh. While he expects to contribute on the field in 2023 from the slot after developing chemistry with second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett this summer, Robinson is also aiming to lead by example in the wide receiver room and help the young pieces like George Pickens and Calvin Austin III. His experience can help them continue to develop from a mental standpoint, helping them stay locked in day in and day out.
Appearing on the Jim Rome Show earlier in the week, Robinson spoke about his role from a leadership standpoint coming up for the Steelers in 2023.
“You know, I think the thing for me from the mental game standpoint with my group is just making sure that they stay locked in day in, day out. It’s a long season,” Robinson said to Rome, according to audio via the show from Wednesday. “It’s gonna be ups and downs, it’s gonna be adversity, but for us it’s about treating prosperity and adversity the same. When we have our highs, we can’t get too high and can’t smell ourselves too much. And at the same time, if things aren’t going the way that we want it, we gotta continue to lock in each and every day.
“Our approach can’t change. We gotta approach each and every day the same.”
Throughout his 10 seasons in the NFL, Robinson has had the same approach day-in, day-out. It’s helped him last this long in the NFL and has helped him battle through the highs of a Pro Bowl season in 2015 in Jacksonville in which he led the NFL in touchdowns with 14, and the lows that have come in recent years with disappointing seasons in Chicago and Los Angeles.
As a veteran entering his 10th season, he’s seemingly closer to the end of his career than the prime of his career, even though he is just 30 years old. He’s accepted it and is taking it upon himself to help develop the young pieces in the room in Pickens and Austin, while also making sure they are able to handle the mental hurdles that a long, grueling NFL season can provide.
With Robinson ascending into a leadership role in the receiver room, that will free up Diontae Johnson a bit more, too, allowing him to take some pointers from Robinson from a leadership aspect.
Right now, the Steelers are riding a high coming out of the preseason. Lows are undoubtedly going to occur in the 2023 season. That’s where the Steelers will have to lean on Robinson a bit from the leadership aspect, especially in the wide receiver room.
