Wan’dale Robinson is a junior wide receiver from the University of Kentucky. The Frankfurt, Kentucky native’s homecoming with the Wildcats, the team that initially held his college commitment, came in 2021 after a two-year stint to start his college career with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Robinson was a four-star recruit, the nation’s No. 1 all-purpose back and the top player in Kentucky in the 247Sports composite rankings.

Wan’Dale Robinson Draft Profile

* Recruit stars via 247Sports

Coach Scott Frost utilized Robinson in the fashion that his position classification suggested as an all-purpose back. While Robinson is a wide receiver prospect in the 2022 NFL draft, he looked more like a scatback to start his career. In his freshman 2019 season, Robinson carried the ball nearly 100 times for the Huskers, logging 88 carries. He also had 40 receptions in 2019, but with only a 3.3 ADOT (average depth of target).

In 2020, still with Nebraska, his usage trended more towards traditional WR usage. His carries dropped from 88 to 46, his receptions increased from 40 to 51 and his ADOT nearly doubled from 3.3 to 6.2. However, the real magic would happen for Robinson following his transfer to Kentucky.

Robinson’s arrival in the Bluegrass State completed his transition from all-purpose back to wide receiver. Robinson only carried the ball seven times for the Wildcats but had 104 receptions as a wide receiver. His chemistry with quarterback Will Levis was astounding, and the robust stats back that up. Robinson blew past the 1,000-yard threshold in receiving yards with a staggering 1,334 yards, backed by the first double-digit ADOT of his career at 10.3.

Wan’Dale Robinson College Receiving Statistics

Wan’Dale Robinson College Rushing Statistics

Wan’Dale Robinson Dynasty Fantasy Analysis

Robinson is undersized for a wide receiver, but the NFL has been trending smaller at the position in recent years. Robinson brings the lateral agility and shiftiness necessary to excel in the slot in the NFL. He often makes defenders look silly using various juke moves that he has in his bag. His 4.44 speed isn’t elite but is plenty fast. Robinson burns defenders deep, combining that speed with a quick release and a natural ability to create space. He projects as a potential high-volume slot receiver who can also take the top off defenses as a deep threat.

*Stats referenced via PFF

Player Comp – Tyler Lockett

Lockett is 5-foot-10, 180 pounds and had a 4.40 40-yard dash coming into the NFL. Robinson is 5-foot-8, 180 pounds and has a 4.44 40-yard dash entering the NFL. Both receivers are twitchy and versatile, frustrating defenses both laterally and vertically. Lockett was a third-round pick in the NFL draft and took a couple of years to produce at a high level. Robinson should see similar draft capital, and fantasy managers should be patient with him as it may also take him a year or two to produce at an impactful level.

Landing Spot and Dynasty Outlook

Wan’Dale Robinson checks a few different analytical boxes, but this pick by the Giants is a head-scratcher unless it’s a precursor to a Kadarius Toney trade. Robinson is an undersized sub-athlete. Standing at 5’8″, 178 lbs, he only registered a 25th percentile speed score, a 36th percentile burst score, and a 64th percentile agility score (per Playerprofiler.com). He did, however, roll up a 37.3% college dominator (75th percentile) and 39.3% target share (99th percentile). If he slips in rookie drafts, I’ll take the leap based on draft capital because we miss with player evaluations sometimes, but outside of that, he isn’t a player I’ll be aggressively targeting.

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