Kentucky wide receiver Wan’dale Robinson only needed one NFL team to believe in him. He found that team on Friday night in the New York Giants when they picked him 43rd overall ahead of a number of better known players.
Robinson wasn’t due to be drafted until about a round later — the NFL Mock Draft Database listed him as the 84th draft pick and The Athletic’s Dane Brugler had him by one grade in the third through fourth rounds. However, Robinson was undaunted.
“I always felt like I was talented enough to be picked this early,” he said Friday night. “I just felt like someone just had to believe in me and not the hype thing and just believe in the footballer.”
The Giants obviously did.
Scouting reports compared the 5-foot-8, 185-pound Robinson’s skills to that of Giants wide receiver Kadarius Toney.
GM Joe Schoen was certain that the Robinson pick had nothing to do with Toney’s future as Giant.
“We’re not buying Kadarius Toney,” the GM said.
Nor is he concerned that Robinson and Toney might possess similar abilities.
“[Robinson is a]good footballer that we’ve got our eyes on, Generator with the ball in his hands, very good run after the catch, very good distance runner, can break up,” Schoen said. “And for what we’re going to do offensively, we thought he would suit us very well.”
“Like Joe said, he’s versatile, has speed, explosiveness, he’s tough even for a smaller guy,” said trainer Brian Daboll. “Was a very prolific player who really went back to high school when he was playing
Robinson said he was “tough, elusive, exciting – just a playmaker”.
Schoen said prior to the draft that the Giants would have a plan for using each player they drafted. He reiterated Friday night that the Giants know how they envision Robinson fitting into the offense they are building.
“I’m going to take as many of these guys on the field as I can,” said Schoen. “Again, he is a generator when the ball is in his hands. He can run after the catch. He can separate from DBs, he becomes open. He played some running backs in Nebraska. This is a versatile piece to use on your offense. If you look at some of the other guys how you can use them and if you look at the past of Daboll or (offensive coordinator Mike) Kafka in terms of creativity on their offense and the weapons they can use, I think you can kind of see what the vision might look like.”