Giants Potential Free-Agent Target: WR Allen Robinson, Chicago

If Bears wide receiver Allen Robinson hits free agency, a lot of people would love to see the Giants make a strong push to acquire him.

WR ALLEN ROBINSON

Height: 6’2"
Weight: 216 lbs.
DOB: August 24, 1993 (27 years old)
Exp.: 7
School: Penn State
Transaction: 2nd round pick (61 overall in 2014) by Jacksonville

Stats

How He'd Fit

Let's be frank. The Giants haven't done quarterback Daniel Jones any favors. Namely, they had him play behind a still-developing offensive line, and they've given him a bunch of smallish receivers to throw to.

Acquiring Allen Robinson II of the Bears via free agency would change the latter and give Jones a tall, physical receiver on the perimeter who is a playmaker and who is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons.

As we all know, taller receivers give the quarterback a better target and have a greater chance at winning the jump ball in traffic. They can also present nightmares for the defense, most of whom have defensive backs in the 5'10-6'0 range.

But another thing to consider with Robinson is his experience playing in Chicago, whose weather sometimes rivals that of the northeast.  

Scouting Report

BearsDigest publisher Gene Chamberlain

Allen Robinson isn't an X-receiver who burns teams with speed on deep routes. Rather, he's the best contested-catch player in the game and has been over the last three years per Pro Football Focus.

His trademark play is the 50-50 ball. He makes the back-shoulder catches and has proven adept at running slants, then making catches with defenders draped on his back. He also has turned the skinny post into an art form. Last season Robinson had only one dropped pass. 

The only real valid criticism of Robinson is he rarely gets many yards after the catch. However, he's making the tough catch so often from poor quarterbacks like Mitchell Trubisky, or during his Jacksonville days with Blake Bortles, that he can't run after the reception. 

On occasion, when he makes the open catch, he displays good burst and power when running. Robinson's torn ACL of 2017 is a distant memory as he's been playing at a level higher than at any point in his career.

The Bottom Line

There's a lot to like about Robinson, who, per Spotrac has a projected market value of $20 million per year.

According to ESPN, caught 200 passes—more than all but three NFL pass-catchers—since the start of the 2019 season in a passing offense that left a lot to be desired.

Robinson, held to 33 yards by the Giants last year in Week 2 (his lowest of the season), was targeted 150 times by the Bears last year, more than any other receiver by a wide margin. He was, for all intents and purposes, their passing offense, and not surprisingly, he has indicated that he'd like to remain with the Bears if they'll have him back.

The Giants, under head coach Joe Judge, have emphasized spreading the ball around to different playmakers rather than featuring one guy every week. Does it make sense to plunk down a small king's ransom for one player when so many other needs exist on a team that, by the way, spreads the ball out among other players on offense?

Logic would dictate no, especially when the position in question is deep in the draft class, but often, teams don't always follow logic. 

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