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WanDale Robinson

Does size matter?

Everyone looks fast, explosive, and impossible to cover in July and August, so these preseason reports need to be taken with a grain of salt. But ignoring them can also be risky, leaving you to miss out on a breakout performer. So some attention must be paid to WanDale Robinson.

The Giants' second-round pick has been drawing raves thus far, lining up in the slot and the backfield and making plays -- the "star of training camp," according to NBC Sports' Peter King. It seems like the Giants have a lot of potential offensive stars, in Robinson, Kadarius Toney, Saquon Barkley and Kenny Golladay, and more realistically, some of these guys will disappoint. But better to hear nice things than nothing at all.

My concern with Robinson is that he's a smaller guy -- 5-foot-8 and 185 pounds according to the team website, and 7 pounds lighter than that at the combine. Just last year I got all excited about Rondale Moore in Arizona, and he had a couple of good games but got mostly lost in the shuffle for the Cardinals. Size isn't everything, but sometimes it can be hard for smaller players to carve out big roles.

Using the search tools at pro-football-reference, I took a look at how often smaller wideouts put up significant numbers. If I went down to Moore or Robinson height, the number of players were pretty thin, so I picked 5-foot-10 or under, and 185 pounds. I went with 800 total scrimmage yards (both receiving and running).

That gave me a list of just over 60 players since 2000, so about 3 per season, on average. Some of these guys are a little taller than Robinson, but I think it gives a sense of the ...er... ceiling for these smaller wideouts. Numbers appear to be trending up, when you consider that seven of those seasons came in 2021 (in bold).

TOP YARDAGE SEASONS FROM SMALLER WIDEOUTS, 2000-PRESENT
PlayerYearRecRunTotTD
Antonio Brown2015183428186210
Antonio Brown2014169813171113
Tyreek Hill20181479151163012
Wes Welker201115693015999
Antonio Brown20171533015339
Antonio Brown20131499415038
T.Y. Hilton20161448014486
Tyreek Hill20201276123139915
Wes Welker200913483613844
Wes Welker201213542013746
T.Y. Hilton201413452013657
Tyreek Hill202112399613359
DeSean Jackson20131332213349
Antonio Brown201812970129715
DeSean Jackson2009115613712939
Antonio Brown201612849129312
Brandin Cooks201812046812725
T.Y. Hilton20181270012706
Tyreek Hill201711835912427
Diontae Johnson202111615312148
Wes Welker200711753412098
Brandin Cooks201611733012038
Wes Welker200811652611913
Tyler Lockett20211175911848
DeSean Jackson20141169711766
DeSean Jackson2010105610411606
Brandin Cooks201511381811569
Brandin Cooks20201150011506
Antonio Brown201111084111492
T.Y. Hilton20151124011245
Brandin Cooks201710824011227
Eddie Royal200898010910895
T.Y. Hilton20131083610895
Kendall Wright20131079010792
Brandin Cooks202110372110586
Tyler Lockett202010540105410
Hunter Renfrow20211038310419
Tyler Lockett201896569103410
Jaylen Waddle20211015310186
Marquise Brown20211008510136
DeSean Jackson20089129610082
Marquise Goodwin20179624410062
DeSean Jackson20161005010054
DeSean Jackson20119614110024
Travis Benjamin2015966129785
Cole Beasley202096709674
T.Y. Hilton201796609664
Shaun McDonald200794329456
Diontae Johnson2020923159387
Tavon Austin20154734349075
T.Y. Hilton2012861298907
Tyreek Hill2019860238837
Tyreek Hill20165932678606
Wes Welker201084808487
Dexter McCluster20113285168441
Cole Beasley201683378405
Andrew Hawkins2014824158392
Jamison Crowder201983348376
Jamison Crowder2017789348233
Antonio Brown2012787248115
DeSean Jackson2018774298034

It's difficult to wade into the Giants' passing game. Daniel Jones is very much a hit-or-miss type of quarterback this season, and there are a lot of potential targets. Hard to imagine Robinson crowding out all the veterans ahead of him for a regular, consistent role.

But it happens. I don't know that I'll have him on any of my teams this year, but somebody I'd be interested in in dynasty. Some chance he'll be a top-2 or 3 wideout here a year or two from now.

--Andy Richardson

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