1. Baltimore Ravens have high expectations for Tavis Robinson
Usually after the NFL draft, the fans are making outrageous comparisons, and it is the team that has to put out fires and calm things down. However, Eric DeCosta ignited heat when he launched his comparison for Tavius Robinson. He said that Robinson reminded him of Za'Darius Smith.
Ravens GM Eric DeCosa said a comp for fourth-round pick Tavius Robinson is Za'Darius Smith. Quite a compliment.
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) April 29, 2023
That is quite the compliment, and while you can understand that they have similarities in ways, they also are a bit different. Below you can see the athletic profile of Tavius Robinson.
Tavius Robinson was drafted with pick 124 of round 4 in the 2023 draft class. He scored a 8.77 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 202 out of 1634 DE from 1987 to 2023. https://t.co/iwUwSzc49f pic.twitter.com/HQyBffFUb1
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 29, 2023
When you compare that to Za'Darius you can see that Smith is bigger, not as explosive. However, the one area that you can see the common thread is both struggled in the agility drills.
Za'Darius Smith was drafted with pick 122 of round 4 in the 2015 draft class. He scored a 3.73 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 491 out of 782 DE from 1987 to 2015. https://t.co/ryStL3W9Mm #RAS pic.twitter.com/uyRHbeLXOQ
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 2, 2023
The Baltimore Ravens go against the grain in this area. While a lot of teams love quick agilities that show an ability to get around the edge with a strong dip and bend, the Ravens do not mind rushers who play more upright but can push pockets with their power.
Beyond that, the Baltimore Ravens also got a lot of value from Smith in different ways, not just playing him as a traditional edge rusher. Does this signal that the Ravens will use him a bit differently than the way they did when he was at Ole Miss? We will find out soon.