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How Chop Answered Dolphins Questions at the 2024 Combine

The Miami Dolphins made Chop Robinson the 21st overall pick in the 2024 draft and he rewarded them with a first season that earned All-Rookie honors

Alain Poupart

Penn State defensive lineman Chop Robinson (DL45) works out during the 2024 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Penn State defensive lineman Chop Robinson (DL45) works out during the 2024 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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INDIANAPOLIS — The Miami Dolphins are going to continue scouting and evaluating the draft prospects at the 2025 combine, all in the hope of being able to hit again in the first round as they did last year with Chop Robinson.

They will be hard-pressed to find a player performing as well in his interview and on-field workout as Robinson did, however.

Defensive linemen and edge defenders kicked off the on-field workouts Thursday, keeping the same schedule as last year and on that first day of workouts in 2024 Robinson killed it.

He ran a 4.48 40-yard dash, the second-best for any edge defender in the 2024 draft, tied for highest vertical jump and earned the highest NextGen Stats athleticism score at his position after checking in at 6-3, 254.

The on-field performance only reinforced what Robinson's Penn State tape had shown, a freakish athlete with high-end potential.

His interview with the Dolphins was the finishing touch in convincing the team he was the right choice with the 21st overall selection in the 2024 draft.

"Honestly that’s my favorite part of the combine, because it’s a puzzle that you’re trying to put together – how can you have a draft class impact your football team, where are you needs, where are your strengths of the draft and then the individuals," Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said. "A lot of times people get caught up in, especially, I think we’re all victims of it – you get into the world of fantasy football and you start treating people like they’re (video game) console create-a-players, and these are human beings. That’s at the foundation of what makes people be able to really succeed on the NFL level because the parity is so real.

"So meeting him, understanding that we were dealing with a wise beyond his years type of young man, a guy that had just scratched the surface but was hungry to establish his kind of piece in the puzzle within the whole league of his game and being able to really refine technique and fundamentals to be a really good player – not for the short term results. I learned a lot about Chop Robinson that I think made it very easy in our conversations with (General Manager) Chris (Grier) and I to make that selection, and we’re very happy we did it.”

After a fairly slow start, Robinson finished his rookie season with the Dolphins with six sacks and ended fifth in the voting for AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.

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Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of Miami Dolphins On SI and host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press and the Dolphins team website. In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books, such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.

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