Initial grades for all 7 of the Steelers 2022 draft picks

Steelers pick 225

Grade: C-

A name that was brought in for a pre-draft visit, Mark Robinson is relatively new at playing linebacker and he has some decent tape there during his stint at Ole Miss. A former running back, Robinson made the full-time switch to defense last season and held his own. That said, his transition to the NFL will likely be a steep curve to get over.

Undersized at 5’11, 230 pounds, Robinson doesn’t have the athletic testing you want in a player his size. It isn’t bad by any means, but typically those severely undersized players are supreme athletes. He isn’t. He does have a hard-hitting nature and can read an offense well, but his overall processing skills are raw.

The best reason to get behind this pick is Brian Flores is here to coach him up. He has a strong track record of getting the most out of linebackers, and he has a good piece of clay in Robinson. That said, I think special teams is his best-case scenario. While that is fine for a seventh-round pick, the reason this grade is a tick below average is due to the room around him. Odds are Robinson is kept on the practice squad in year one due to the various other special teams’ options already on the roster.