Ex-NFL coaches — including Saban — voice this concern on Dolphins’ Robinson. Ten weigh in

Ten evaluators — including two former NFL coaches — weigh in on the Dolphins’ selection of Penn State edge player Chop Robinson with the 21st overall pick in this week’s NFL Draft:

▪ Former Alabama coach Nick Saban, debuting as an ABC/ESPN analyst, praised Robinson but expressed one significant concern.

“Chop has great one-step quickness, he’s got great speed off the edge, and he plays with a great motor,” Saban said. “But the one thing I would like to see him do so he’s not a one-horse pony kind of guy as a pass rusher, always rushing on the edge, is turn speed to power. If he learns how to do that, this guy is going to be dangerous.

“You saw Chop Robinson run around the tackle, around the edge. You can push him by the quarterback, you can put a tackle there, a tight end or an H-back or somebody to slow him down. But when you start to go around the edge, then you long-arm the guy right in the chest and push him back to the quarterback. That’s what I mean [when I say] turn speed to power. Then you become a three-way rusher and you can work the weak shoulder [of the player blocking you].

“When a guy soft sets you, you work his inside shoulder, you run right through him. But he doesn’t have any power.”

So who among this year’s crop of college edge rushers has both the speed and the power? Saban said two: Alabama’s Dallas Turner (his former player) and UCLA’s Laitau Latu. Both were off the board when Miami picked 21st.

“We teach our guys that at the beginning,” Saban said. “To be an effective rusher, you have to do both of those things.”

▪ Former Atlanta coach Mike Smith also expressed a concern similar to Saban’s in a piece for “Betway.”

“He’s not real strong and that’s evident when you watch the tape because he’s one of those that get up the field and attacks guys but when he attacks, he’ll get pushed out of the hole in the running game,” Smith said. “He doesn’t have the girth and the strength to sit down at the line of scrimmage and make plays.

“So, he’ll run up the field and run himself out of plays in the run game. He has to improve that, but I can see him being a third down guy who you’re going to want on the field in passing situations.”

▪ ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. also has some doubts.

“Same thing I said about Dallas Turner and [Seattle pick and former Texas defensive tackle] Byron Murphy. You need more sack production when you’re that talented. He didn’t have it.”

Robinson had 11.5 sacks in three college seasons but had 54 pressures over the past two seasons at Penn State.

Kiper was troubled that two of his four sacks last season came against FCS school Massachusetts.

“He’s got that great initial quickness, that great first step,” Kiper said. “Then he needs to get that counter move and that’s the issue. Expand that pass rush arsenal. Go to the secondary move faster when the initial pathway is thwarted. That’s what has to be coached into him.

“He doesn’t have the longest arms in the world, but they’re long enough. The effort is there for the most part, as long as he can seal the edge. Great athletic ability. Sometimes he’s a little late reacting, doesn’t always locate the ball. The talent is there. Will the coaching make him a guy who can get to that 8- to 10-sack-a-year mark?”

▪ ESPN’s Louis Riddick was a bit more bullish, comparing him physically to seven-time Pro Bowler Dwight Freeney, who had 125.5 career sacks.

“He reminds you a little bit of Dwight Freeney with that compact build, that track stance. He comes out of a curled-up ball. When they put him on the move, he is a problem. You see how he’s built. He’s a ball of muscle. He’s going to be a problem.”

▪ Fox’s Joel Klatt made a point that should give Dolphins fans hope:

“He’s one of those guys.. you have to actively game plan against. You go back to the Michigan game, Chop Robinson beat their [offensive] tackle so badly on the first two third downs of the game, Michigan abandoned the passing game. Why did Michigan run the ball 32 straight times against Penn State? Because of that man. He totally affected the game and they had to totally abandon throwing the ball with a guy who was a first-round quarterback [J.J. McCarthy].”

▪ NFL Network lead draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, who had Robinson going 23rd in his draft eve mock:

“This is a need, and this is a fastball off the edge in Chop Robinson. You saw it at the Combine, how fast he was. He ran 4.48 at 254 pounds. We always talk about these Penn State guys. They’re all explosive athletes. We see it every year in Indianapolis [at the Combine].

“He’s a little raw as a pass rusher. The production wasn’t necessarily there but the disruption was. He created a lot of chaos with his penetration and his ability to win 1-on-1 opportunities.

“That first step. His name is Chop, ironically, He takes those quick little choppy steps. I think if he lengthens that out a little bit, he will even be more devastating at the next level. Very sudden. Wins early in the down with that quickness. He doesn’t get the sacks but he caused the sack.

“In the run game, shooting gaps, using his quickness to play there.”

▪ ESPN’s Kirk Herbstriet:

“This is a great addition and a big need for this team. This is really about his motor, which you can really appreciate. He’s got the burst and flexibility . He can bend around the edge. Look how they move him inside on obvious passing situations. Brings a lot to this defense in Miami.”

▪ ESPN’s Desmond Howaed: “When he was at the Combine, the lady who administered the drug test said he was her favorite player and the woman at the front desk where he trained said the same thing. They’re not only getting a fantastic football player in Miami, but also a fantastic person.”

▪ NFL Network and CBS analyst: Charles Davis: “Their biggest need was edge rusher. The one thing he has to do is get stronger in the upper body. Because you know who he has to get on the ground? Josh Allen in the AFC East. Good luck doing that.”

▪ The Athletic’s Dane Brugler: He “needs to continue developing to prove he isn’t a one-trick pony, but his first-step explosiveness and aggressive hands give him the potential to be the most dynamic pass rusher in this class.”

▪ NBC’s Chris Simms: They’re going with the physical freak who didn’t produce.”