Breaking Down Why Keenan Robinson Is a Budding Star for the Washington Redskins
Finding the silver lining when you're 3-7 requires a glass-half-full mindset. In that spirit, meet Keenan Robinson, the middle linebacker who's already a budding young star for the Washington Redskins.
Even though Robinson is in his third season, you could be forgiven for not knowing him. After all, he missed 21 games during the first two years and has a mere 10 starts to his credit.
All of those starts have come this season, and Robinson is certainly making the most of them. He's notched 83 tackles thanks to a game defined by three core qualities: recognition, speed and downhill aggression.
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The latter is the central characteristic in how Robinson plays. It's most obvious against the run.
Consider the first play of Washington's dismal 27-7 home defeat in Week 11 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Robinson was locked in on running back Bobby Rainey:
As soon as Robinson read run, he accelerated downhill. Bucs' fullback Jorvorskie Lane should have been trying to cut off Robinson:
But the former Texas standout was just too quick for the blocking back. He broke through the lane untouched to drop Rainey for a one-yard loss:
It didn't matter who Tampa Bay quarterback Josh McCown handed the ball off to, Robinson was never far away. He destroyed another running play at its source in the third quarter.
This time Robinson keyed rookie Charles Sims:
The Bucs ran a power-style sweep with left guard Logan Mankins pulling around the corner to act as a lead blocker:
Once again, Robinson was lightning-fast off the mark once he read run. He broke downhill so quickly he had two lanes to exploit:
Robinson arrowed underneath, behind the inside shoulder of Mankins, to take Sims down for a four-yard loss:
But Robinson doesn't just do a favorable impression of a guided missile to blow up running plays. His lateral speed is also exceptional.
It was best displayed by his part in this superb stop during Washington's 19-17 win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 7. The Titans planned to run pocket-edition burner Dexter McCluster off tackle from a shotgun look:
Robinson again wasted little time reading run and even less time breaking toward the sideline. He had two holes to attack but maintained outside leverage because of McCluster's speed:
McCluster made his move, Robinson made his, always keeping leverage on the outside:
By holding the corner, Robinson wrecked this play. He prevented McCluster from bouncing all the way to the outside where his quickness and moves can really hurt a defense:
That meant McCluster was forced to cut back toward the inside, right into the backside pursuit:
Robinson soon combined with Ryan Kerrigan to tackle McCluster for a one-yard loss.
This play showcased not only Robinson's sideline-to-sideline speed, but also his intelligence recognizing the flow of a run. Those are two essential qualities all effective middle linebackers must possess.
It's that combination that probably encouraged Washington to make Robinson the defensive signal-caller this season, per Liz Clarke of The Washington Post.
This play was part of Robinson's 14-tackle performance, an effort that earned him conference-wide recognition, per the public-relations arm of Redskins.com:
"Against the Titans, Robinson posted a career-high and game-high 14 tackles. He became the first Redskins linebacker to record at least 14 total tackles in a game since Perry Riley, Jr. in Week 1 of the 2013 season.
The middle linebacker helped hold the Titans to 236 total yards, the fewest by the Titans this season and Tennessee’s fewest since Week 6 of the 2013 season.
This marks the first NFC Defensive Player of the Week award of Robinson’s career. He is the first member of the Redskins to earn the honor since cornerback DeAngelo Hall in Week 12 of the 2011 season.
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Those numbers are evidence of an active playmaker. Robinson's skills extend beyond simply stuffing the run.
He's also become a useful part of Washington's blitz schemes. Just as he does against the run, Robinson times his actions well and relies on natural speed and aggressive instincts to make plays.
Let's go all the way back to Week 1 for a good example. Defensive coordinator Jim Haslett sent Robinson (blue circle) and free safety Ryan Clark on an overload blitz after Houston passer Ryan Fitzpatrick:
With Clark occupying the right tackle, Robinson had two paths to get around right guard Brandon Brooks:
He took the inside lane to loop past Brooks:
Once beyond his blocker, Robinson bolted for Fitzpatrick. As he usually does, Robinson delivered quite a whack once he closed on the quarterback:
Head coach Jay Gruden has lauded the blend of athleticism and ferocity that makes Robinson Washington's best weapon for an attacking form of defense, per Tom Schad of The Washington Times:
"I think you feel him when you’re on the field. You feel his speed. He’s starting to really bring the thump with him on the tackles, also. His pass coverage — everything. ... With the athletic ability that he has, the more he sees, the more confident he gets with what he’s going to do, he’s going to be a dominant force because he’s got the great athletic tools.
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But there are a few more strings to Robinson's bow. He's developed quite a niche as an underneath-covering defender. Robinson's been particularly effective shadowing and neutralizing running backs out to the backfield.
Against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 6, he helped Washington's defense blanket dual-threat ace Andre Ellington:
The versatile running back ran a swing pattern into the hook zone that was quickly met by Robinson. The linebacker gave Ellington no room to escape or get behind the coverage:
Robinson made contact with the running-back-turned-receiver to further disrupt the pattern. That contact occurred a hair within the five-yard limit:
It prevented Ellington from making it to the window Arizona signal-caller Carson Palmer was aiming for:
Robinson followed the same formula to track and shackle Sims, another effective pass-catching back, during the third quarter against the Bucs:
Robinson quickly got in the pass lane and picked Sims up in man coverage:
Robinson then made his hit to jam Sims and keep him in front:
With Sims restricted underneath, Robinson made a solid, form tackle to limit the play to a mere two yards:
Robinson offered textbook examples of how to play coverage. He kept his receivers in front and made contact to prevent a clean release and disrupt the routes.
The more comfortable Robinson gets in coverage, the closer he'll be to becoming a complete linebacker and the true talisman of this defense. But that doesn't mean there still isn't room for improvement.
Robinson has been active and efficient this season, but splash plays have been in short supply. He has notched just 1.5 sacks, one pass breakup, a single interception and a lone fumble recovery.
He needs to add more impact plays to his fast-growing repertoire.
The Redskins rolled the dice when they decided to give a brittle and inexperienced player such a prominent role. But the gamble certainly appears to be paying off, as Robinson is close to star status at his position.
All statistics via NFL.com.
All screen shots courtesy of CBS Sports, Fox Sports and NFL.com Game Pass.
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