Oct 19, 2014; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Allen Robinson (15) runs after a catch in the fourth quarter of their game against the Cleveland Browns at EverBank Field. The Jacksonville Jaguars best the Cleveland Browns 24-6. Mandatory Credit: Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports
Heading into week 9 of the fantasy football season and everyone is making their last ditch roster moves in order to get their team in position to make the playoffs. Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Allen Robinson is a player that’s on the end of a lot of “fantasy” benches or even on the waiver wire in some leagues. Robinson is a player that should be considered in your starting line up every week, but there’s a lot of owners who are weary of starting Robinson. This article is a proclamation of why you should ensure more trust in Allen Robinson and possibly join the fan club of “All-in Robinson”.
Robinson was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2nd round the 61st pick over all during the 2014 NFL draft. Robinson was considered an elite wide receiver prospect heading into the draft last year. This year’s class of rookie wide recievers is the most talented class of recievers of all time and with this class being highly concentrated with talent caused Robinson to not get the exposure he would normally get during the draft process regarding his talents. Any other season Robinson would be a first round pick and would be on the watch list right out of the gate for all fantasy owners.
Robinson is 6’3 220 pounds, so he’s has the prototypical of a number 1 wide reciever. He tested with a 4.6 40 yard dash at the combine, but when I study his tape I notice he runs faster than a 4.6 40. He does have an elite 39 inch verticle, which means he’s going to have the ability to out jump defenders with ease when the ball is in the air. From watching a lot of tape on Allen Robinson and comparing his combine measurables he is very comparable to Bengals Wide Reciever AJ Green who is considered one of the best wide recievers in the NFL.
The first half of Robinson’s rookie season has started better than expected, he has became the focal point of the Jaguars offense and he doesn’t look like a rookie wide reciever, he looks more like a proven veteran with how he runs his routes and makes on the field. Ever since Robinson gained his starting role in week 3 He is averaging 9 targets a game, while catching 63% of those targets. 9 targets a game is a heavy workload that leads to fantasy success because it gives Robinson a lot of opportunities to make plays. Since week 3 Robinson is averaging 14 fantasy points a game in PPR, which makes him a high end WR 2. Wide recievers who recieve a lot of targets like Robinson are very safe to start every week, because with the large work load they receive they are guaranteed to score points every week. This generates a higher floor for a heavily used wide receiver compared to the wideouts who receive 5 or less targets a game.
Many fantasy owner’s are skeptical on starting Robinson because he’s a rookie and he plays for Jacksonville one of the worst teams in the league. Robinson has created a strong connection with rookie QB Blake Bortles and should only improve this season while he gets acclimated to the NFL. Like I said previously in the article he is an elite wide reciever prospect and should develop into one of the better wide recievers in the game, so the impressive fantasy numbers he has been producing these last few weeks isn’t a fluke. Even against tough match ups Robinson should be considered in your line up, he is still going to get targets and will benefit from garbage time. This year, Robinsom is going to benefit from a lot of garbage time, because the Jaguars are young and developing and they are going to be behind in a lot of games. Don’t be nervous about starting Robinson he’s the real deal. I’m all in on Robinson and you should be too.
If you need any fantasy advice feel free to hit me up on Twitter @bmatz08.