Three other pass rushers were selected before the Miami Dolphins drafted Chop Robinson with the 21st pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, but he proved to be exactly what Miami needed off the edge. He faced a larger-than-expected role due to injuries and answered the call with 56 quarterback pressures and six sacks while appearing in all 17 games as a rookie.

Zach Sieler led the team with 10 sacks but Robinson’s lightning-quick first step led to 42 of Miami’s 206 quarterback hurries last season, according to PFF. While Laiatu Latu and Dallas Turner were the first two defensive ends off the board in April’s draft, ESPN named Robinson and Los Angeles Rams edge rusher Jared Verse to the 2024 NFL All-Rooke Team.

“Robinson has had such a cool, underappreciated season,” national NFL analyst Ben Solak wrote. “He was the eighth-fastest edge rusher off the ball, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, with an average get off of 0.76 seconds, and leveraged that wicked first step into a 17.2% pressure rate — sixth among all edge rushers with at least 200 pass rushes and first among rookies, including Jared Verse.”

The Dolphins were dealt a tough hand at pass rusher last season. Jaelan Phillips played only four games last season before suffering a torn ACL. Bradley Chubb missed the entire season recovering from a torn ACL, meniscus, and patellar tendon sustained in December 2023. Lastly, Shaq Barrett retired just days before training camp while Andrew Van Ginkel signed a two-year contract with the Minnesota Vikings.

Robinson was expected to be a pass-rush specialist his rookie season but the laundry list of issues led to him playing over 50 percent of snaps in 13 of 17 games. Not only did he answer the call, but Robinson, Chubb, and Phillips could form a game-changing trio heading into next season.