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Giants Trade Again, Pluck UCF Cornerback Aaron Robinson in Third Round

New York adds more versatility to the defensive secondary who can play inside and outside in the defensive backfield.

Patricia Traina

Giants Trade Again, Pluck UCF Cornerback Aaron Robinson in Third Round
Giants Trade Again, Pluck UCF Cornerback Aaron Robinson in Third Round /

He did it again.

New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman made his third trade in as many rounds of this year's draft, only this time, Gettleman traded up instead of back.

The Giants sent Pick No. 76 in the third round and No. 164 in the fifth round (the pick the team got in its trade with the Chicago Bears Thursday night) to the Denver Broncos for Pick No. 71.

The Giants selected UCF cornerback Aaron Robinson, a player who started his college career at Alabama before transferring to UCF. 

The 6'1", 193-pound Robinson has 103 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss, one interception, and 16 pass breakups in his career. Here is NFL Draft Bible's scouting report on Robinson:

The speedy Robinson posted some respectable numbers in his first season of consistent playing time for the UCF Knights in 2019. Robinson took his game to an even higher level in 2020, showing why the talented Robinson had once ended up at the University of Alabama. He has experience playing every cornerback position on the field, but he was used the most in nickel situations and is most effective when in the slot. Blessed with natural speed, Robinson has no issues staying attached to wide receivers. Even when he gets caught out of position, his speed will bail him out of these situations. Robinson has great ball skills as his ability to locate and play the ball is exactly what is wanted from a slot corner. While Robinson thrives in man coverage, he struggles at times in zone as his instincts are not up to par and he seems a bit tentative at times. He needs to improve his tackling as far too many times he is lunging at a ball-carrier and flat out missing open-field tackles, which allows screen passes to go for long gains. 

Although primarily a slot cornerback--per Pro Football Focus, he played 485 snaps in the slot last season--NFL Draft Bible predicts that teams might look to move Robinson to the perimeter to take better advantage of his size and athleticism.

Gettleman noted that good defenses have good tacklers and lauded Robinson as a good tackler. Per Pro Football Focus, Robinson recorded 14 missed tackles in 20219 but cut that number down to two last season.

Robinson has also been solid in coverage, allowing 55.8% of the pass targets against him to be completed while allowing just six touchdowns in four seasons.

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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