How Dominique Robinson moved from QB to WR to DE

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The journey to the NFL is often long and winding for hopeful prospects. Many players have stories of overcoming adversity, or challenges they still need to face. But Bears fifth-round draft pick Dominique Robinson took a bit of an unusual path to the NFL. Robinson hasn’t honed his craft to the degree of other incoming rookies, simply because he switched positions twice before finding a place where he could make an impact.

Robinson played quarterback in high school, but transitioned to wide receiver during his freshman year at Miami (OH). But over his first two seasons, he only caught 27 balls. Without the ball in his hands he couldn’t make plays, and Robinson wanted to be a playmaker. He realized the best way to make an impact on the game, without the ball in his hands, was to make the move to defense.

“I love watching college football,” Robinson said. “So I’m watching Chase Young just run around people, so I’m like, ‘Man, if I can’t do that, there’s something wrong with me.’ So that’s what kind of pushed me to do that.”

His coaches at Miami were wide open to the idea, and he made an impact right away. In 2020, Robinson’s first year on defense, he played in three games and notched nine tackles and two sacks. But he wasn’t entirely happy. Robinson noticed he wasn’t generating the power he wanted on every single down, so he took it upon himself to change his stance.

“I was looking at other people on my team who were in better stances, and I just mimicked what they did.”

After the change, Robinson registered 28 tackles and 4.5 sacks, in 12 games.

Robinson knows he’s not a finished product, and is taking a piecemeal approach to his development. Right now, he’s working on his ability to stop the run, because he understands that’s an emphasis for the position in Matt Eberflus’ defense.

Even though Robinson might be viewed as a “project” pick, that’s not how the Bears will treat him.

“We’re not going to limit him, and say, ‘You know what, he hadn’t played defensive end very long, so we’re only going to do this,’” said defensive coordinator Alan Williams. “With all our guys, we’re going to give them very specific roles, see how far they can take it, and then let them do it on Sundays. Then, keep pushing and keep pushing and keep pushing, and see what their limits are, and see how far they can take it. Right now, with good players, you don’t limit them… you set the bar high and you’d be surprised at how far they can go.”

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