Dynasty Dilemma: Wan’Dale Robinson

The forgotten wide receiver in most startups and dynasty right now is Wan”Dale Robinson with a lot of hype coming out of college with his massive year at Kentucky in 2021: 104 receptions, 1334 yards, and 7 touchdowns. He was the receiver people either bought into or hated with regard to his size and really only one year of solid production. His other 2 years in college were at Nebraska and his career totals in college were: 185 receptions, 2078 yards, and 10 touchdowns, the dislike had stats to back him up.

Going into the 2022 season, Robinson had a much easier path to make the team, and did. The patience with the coaching staff looked like it would pay off. With Sterling Shepard going down to injury and Kenny Golladay being what he was in New York they needed someone to step up and the first person to do so was Robinson. In his breakout game versus the Lions, he had 9 receptions for 100 yards when he tore his ACL and ended his rookie season. In the 6 games he played he finished with 23 receptions, 227 yards, and 1 touchdown.

REASON TO BUY

There are going to be a few reasons to buy that will be up for debate for some people, but not for me. The biggest reason to buy is still the roster. They still have Sterling Shepard and he is going to get a spot because the coaching staff and front office love the man. They went and signed Jamison Crowder and Parris Campbell, and then you have some of the holdovers in Isaiah Hodgins and Darius Slayton. They also have 2 relevant rookie receivers, Jalin Hyatt and Bryce Ford-Wheaton. Let's break it down.

The Giants resigned Isaiah Hodgins to a minimum 1-year deal, and Slayton got a 2-year 12 million base salary deal with incentives. Campbell and Crowder got 1 year “prove-it” deals. Slayton is the only former draft pick of the Giants but with the old regime. That leaves the rookies. Jalin Hyatt was a 3rd round pick (84th overall) and Ford-Wheaton was an UDFA (undrafted free agent). So what does this mean?

It means Robinson is still the highest-drafted player from this coaching staff and GM. With a lot of ”prove-it” and rookie deals, the Giants are making sure they have enough guys when injuries happen, and they signed veterans to help mento the younger receivers on how to be a pro. At the end of the day, the Giants still don't have a true #1 and Wan’Dale can be that. 

With the injury behind him and what looks like a good recovery:

https://gmenhq.com/posts/wandale-robinson-injury-update-training-camp-ny-giants-01gyfq9ak1x6 

Wan’Dale Robinson still produced in an albeit small sample size. 23 receptions on 31 targets is a 74.2% catch percentage. With his 4.4 speed, 1.49 10-yard, and 2.54 20-yard split, Robinson uses his elite speed to his advantage. Albeit, not a route-running technician, he is shifty and creates space in different ways. Mike Kafka (the Giant's offensive coordinator) will use him all over the field. Robinson will be one of the wide receivers in the offense where you ask: “Why is he always open?"

REASON TO SELL

Injury is always a reason to sell. While the most significant injury has been this torn ACL, he is on his way to recovery. However, will he return from his ACL repair as the player he was before? In addition to the ACL tear, he has had multiple sprains; including his knee at the beginning of the 2022 season. In college, the only thing reported was in 2019, when he had ankle and hamstring strains. Robinson only missed one game for those injuries. While being 5 foot 8 inches and 185 pounds, one can argue that you can get away with it as a wide receiver, but every injury starts to make everyone wonder if his size is leading to all these ailments. 

Additional competition is the other sell. I gave you reasons why to buy because of the competition, Here are the reasons to sell. While I don’t believe Isaiah Hodgins is going to be a significant threat to a potential WR2 position over Robinson, the way he came in and won over the team with his play is something you can’t ignore. While only playing in 8 games due to injuries to multiple players, Hodgins came in and became a consistent target for Daniel Jones. With 33 receptions, 351 yards, and 4 touchdowns, Hodgins made himself relevant to fantasy managers for a few weeks. I praised Robinson earlier for his catch rate. It is important to note that Hodgins also had a percentage of 78.6%. Hodgins was reliable, which can be a differentiator on who makes the team, and who helps lead the team. 

Robinson is shifty and creates space but some of his routes are left to be desired. He has success on routes like the dig, corner, and comeback routes, and still needs improvement on post and curl routes. Although he still needs to work on route running, if his offensive coordinator knows what kind of player he has he will build up his strengths and use Robinson in the open field where he excels and use his abilities at his highest success rates. So what is the outcome?

VERDICT

Wan’Dale Robinson is an easy decision for me. In dynasty if you don't already have him, and want him, throw out some feeler offers to the manager that has him. Use your knowledge of your league to leverage a trade with the other owner. In redraft formats, his ADP (average draft position) is 154.3. For a 22-year-old in his second year and with high draft capital, I would put my eggs in that basket. 

Daniel Jones had a resurgence last year and is not as hated as he was last season. Whether you buy into him or not, he is fantasy relevant and his receiving corps will be too. After Darren Waller and Saquon Barkley, there are fantasy points for the taking and if you can get the potential WR1 for the Giants in the 13th round in redraft formats he is an instant buy for me rather than getting Parris Campbell 3 rounds later that may not even make the team.

 Go out and get your shares of Robinson while they are still cheap! 

BUY