Giants WR Allen Robinson II's Experience a Bonus for the Team

Robinson has embraced a mentoring role within the Giants' receivers room in addition to his role on the offense.

Jul 25, 2024; East Rutherford, NY, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Allen Robinson II (5) gives an interview after training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. / Lucas Boland-USA TODAY Sports

To some, the New York Giants’ signing of veteran receiver Allen Robinson II was a bit of a surprise.

But for head coach Brian Daboll, so far, Robinson has given him everything expected and then some.

“Veteran. He's played for a long time, so he knows how to be a pro,” Daboll said. “I think he's done a good job on the field physically, but I also think he adds an element of leadership in the room with some younger receivers.”

The Giants, whose most senior tenured receiver, Sterling Shepard, was not retained after last season, were looking for another senior voice to come in and be a mentor to their mostly young receiver room consisting of Darius Slayton, Malik NAbers, Jalin Hyatt and Wan’Dale Robinson.

Daboll smiled as he recalled something that popped up during a meeting on Thursday in which Robinson asked him to pause the tape for a moment.

 “I'm watching (the tape), going through it, making some corrections–it wasn’t even Malik (Nabers), and (Robinson) spoke up,” Daboll said of Robinson. “He said, ‘Hey, Dabs, can you rewind that and just pause it for a minute?’ 

He sat there for 30 seconds and just had a private conversation with Malik on a certain technique that he saw. So, when you can get some veterans in the room, whether it's the receiver room, defensive line room, running back room, that knows what it looks like, knows how to be a pro, that helps.”

Great response here from WR Allen Robinson regarding teaching young receivers. pic.twitter.com/I4wLMXNUXH

— Patricia Traina (@Patricia_Traina) July 27, 2024

Robinson, who when he first came to the NFL as a second-round draft pick by the Jaguars, knows the importance of having a veteran for a young player to turn to who can share his wisdom and perspectives in the meeting room. So when NAbers had a question about what he saw on tape, Robinson was only too happy to jump in and help his young teammate.

“With my experience, I wanted to kind of give him a little bit more clarity as far as how somebody could see what the DB is doing and some tips that he could look for with the DB and how they're playing and so on and so forth,” Robinson said.

“When I came in the NFL, you know, we came in with a very young room, so I didn't have a vet, so for me, you know, being able to be that guy now who has 10 years under their belt in the NFL, being able to share as much knowledge as I can with some of the younger guys…answer questions that they have.”

Daboll said he was upfront with Robinson before the receiver signed with the team, outlining what the expectations were and ensuring that he was on board with everything. 

“I don’t want players coming in here expecting one thing, and it’s totally different,” Daboll said. 

“So, they have to understand what it looks like and what I see it as, the expectation, whether it is a good fit for you, too, and whether you want to be part of it. I laid it on the line with him. This is what it was. If you have any questions, I’ll be as truthful as I can to you and then make that decision. If it works well for you and us, then it’s a good partnership.”

Robinson, it turned out, was totally fine with the dual role of being a mentor and contributing to the offense as a big slot receiver.

“I always have an open forum, and that's on and off the film,” Robinson said. “(Thursday) it was in the film room, but anytime guys have any off the field questions–training or anything like that…I wanna see guys thrive.”

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