Why Landon Robinson is the ultimate Bengals training camp watch

The Cincinnati Bengals might have struck gold in the seventh round of the NFL Draft by selecting Navy defensive tackle Landon Robinson. There are a number of reasons for this, but suffice it to say, Robinson may be a major contributor sooner than most of his draft status could ever expect.

With a promising start to Robinson's pro career that generated buzz as soon as OTAs, and a clear-cut rotational role that suits his skill set, we have the makings of a diamond in the rough on Cincinnati's suddenly-deep defensive line.

For those who aren't familiar with Robinson, or those who are and want a clearer picture of what his future may look like, you're in the right place. Here are three reasons to keep a close eye on him during Bengals training camp.

Notable ties (and similar traits) to Bengals legend Geno Atkins

Way back in January, Clif Marshall, the trainer for legendary Bengals interior pass rusher Geno Atkins not only shared that he was working with Landon Robinson, but also that he noticed lots of similarities between the two players.

That sort of praise isn't thrown around lightly. But guess what? Robinson went ahead and backed it up with his pre-draft athletic testing:

You could say I personally manifested Robinson to Cincinnati, but hey, if not, I don't need the flowers. I'll just keep being right so often about this team that you'll someday be sick of it, dear reader. Sick from being overfed with so much on-field success for the Bengals, that is!

The Robinson-Geno comparisons are real and valid. Remember too that Atkins wasn't some highly-drafted, slam-dunk prospect out of Georgia (fourth round, No. 120 overall).

The Navy intrigue...and the implied upside of a service academy

As if Landon Robinson's eye-popping athleticism and stout frame aren't compelling-enough viewing, he has a higher ceiling than your standard seventh-round pick solely based on his college experience.

My hope is to pick Robinson's brain about his time at the Naval Academy at some point. Whenever my personal health transformation settles and my impromptu midday audition intermissions for shows like Law & Order: SVU subside, perhaps my mutual X/Twitter follow and I can do a little interview action.

But until then, consider me an admirer from afar. Because to juggle a legitimate academic workload, Navy-specific military initiatives, and do enough to be named a first-team All-American is nothing short of a staggering body of work.

That's what Robinson achieved at the collegiate level. He has a foundation of extreme discipline and athletic dominance. Now, he gets to make football his primary focus, learn the finer details under the watch of an NFL coaching staff, and possibly unlock far more potential.

In other words, we don't know quite how good Robinson can be yet. He didn't have the same advantages in terms of a pure football focus as other big-time programs.

So far, so good in the NFL methinks. Robinson made good on that aforementioned OTAs hype by already earning reps with the second-team defense. SI.com's Landon Belote captured proof of this on the scene:

Which dovetails nicely into our next section here...

Why Robinson's niche may trump Kris Jenkins Jr. in d-line rotation

I've mentioned before how 2024 second-round pick Kris Jenkins Jr. is an ideal trade candidate. This might be the 2,376th time I've repeated this take, but for the uninitiated or the Stripe Hype neophytes, here goes again: Jenkins is too small to be a nose tackle, and not explosive enough to be an effective 3-technique. He's a textbook 'tweener defensive tackle.

Look at Robinson's testing numbers. Look at his sack production in college (14.5 in three seasons as an undersized nose tackle). Think about how well he could fare as an interior pass rusher lined up next to, say, Dexter Lawrence?

Look at how fast Robinson wins here against Jacob Bayer, courtesy of NBC 5's Charlie Clifford:

Jenkins ain't got that kind of juice. And granted, Bayer would be lucky to crack the roster, but Robinson can only face the men lined up across from him.

The point is, Robinson has more pass rushing upside than anything these eyes have seen from Jenkins through two middling (that's characterizing his play kindly) NFL seasons. Cincinnati's scouting department is probably too proud to waive Jenkins during 53-man roster cuts, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't do it.

Between Lawrence, T.J. Slaton and McKinnley Jackson, the Bengals have three clear nose tackles. As far as 3-technique types, Jonathan Allen and B.J. Hill are the obvious headliners.

Does that mean Jenkins, Robinson, and Jackson are fighting for the last spot in the rotation, or on the roster? Quite possibly. And I'm more bullish on the rookie than either of those two fellas.

Hence why, again, Landon Robinson is an ultimate must-watch player at Bengals training camp.

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