The New York Giants signed veteran defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson on Monday, adding another body to a defensive line rotation that general manager Joe Schoen promised to address this offseason.
Here are five things to know about the newest Giant.
Star at Alabama
Robinson, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs in at 330 pounds, was a Consensus All-American in 2015 and helped the Crimson Tide to the National Championship in 2016. He was a steady performer over his three years for Nick Saban’s team, recording 22 tackles for a loss and nine sacks.
On to Detroit
Robinson was selected in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft with the 46th overall pick by the Detroit Lions. The Fort Worth, Texas native played all 16 games as a rookie, starting five, collecting six tackles for a loss, two sacks, and batted down a league-high seven passes.
Three years in L.A.
After four seasons in Detroit, Robinson moved on to Los Angeles for three seasons to play for Sean McVay’s Rams. Injuries cut his first and third seasons short but in the middle season (2021), Robinson played in all 17 games, starting 14, and helped lead the Rams to a Super Bowl championship.
Large from a young age
As a youth, Robinson’s mother would have to bring his berth certificate to games because coaches and opposing parents believed he was older than he was. Due to his size, he was often accused of lying about his age.
“My mom came raising hell,” A’Shawn once told AL.com. “I couldn’t play because I was too big and they had to see my birth certificate.”
That trend continued into his college years when Robinson was often misidentified as a coach when he was actually a 20-year-old student-athlete.
Impact on the Giants
The Giants now have a bit of a glut along the defensive line. That’s not a bad thing. With Dexter Lawrence, Leonard Williams, D.J. Davidson, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Ryder Anderson, Vernon Butler, and now Robinson.
They will likely bring in another one of two players this week during the draft and the UDFA period. Robinson will be part of a rotation and will be asked to play around 25-30 percent of the snaps at most.
