Despite having Nakobe Dean and Skyy Moore on the board, the New York Giants made a surprise pick after trading back seven spots in the 2022 NFL Draft. Originally sitting at No. 36, general manager Joe Schoen moved back to the 43rd overall selection, where he selected Kentucky wide receiver, Wan’Dale Robinson.
Robinson is a tiny receiver at 5’8″ and 179 pounds, but he’s extremely versatile and shifty with the way he plays. In fact, many had Robinson deep at the bottom of their draft boards, but the Giants clearly saw something special in the Kentucky stand-out, who contributed 1,334 yards and seven touchdowns last season.
Robinson has elite agility, and despite being undersized, he’s built well with a muscular frame. He has a tiny catch radius which will limit his impact, but he’s easily utilized as a gadget receiver who can take a screen pass to the house.
According to Lance Zierlien of NFL.com, Robinson is extremely versatile in his alignments:
Robinson will be tabbed as a slot receiver but that is underselling his potential. He’s sudden and slick with an ability to make plays from a variety of alignments. He has gadget potential and can function as a dump-and-run target, acting as an extension of the running game. A lack of length and play strength could be a concern until he tightens up the route-running to prevent contested catches. He’s much lighter than Deebo Samuel, but the competitiveness, acceleration and run-after-catch talent could have teams eyeing a somewhat similar usage for Robinson in the future.