How a Move Outside Can Benefit Giants' CB Aaron Robinson

By now, second-year cornerback Aaron Robinson, the Giants' third-round pick last year, should have settled into a team's defense.

Such is not the case, however, though through no fault of the 24-year-old. Robinson, who played his college ball at Central Florida, had a sports hernia procedure shortly after being drafted. That procedure kept him out of all of the spring and summer practices and cost him several games of his rookie campaign.

"Definitely a learning experience," Robinson told reporters last week after the team wrapped up its sixth OTA. "A lot of it was mental for me at first. I had some great guys around me helping me and bringing me up until I was able to get back out there and help them any way I could. Just from a mental standpoint – everything was pretty good, though."

This year, Robinson and the Giants are hoping for things to go from "pretty good" to "awesome." Robinson is currently the early favorite to take over the outside cornerback spot that opened when the team was forced to cut James Bradberry earlier this month.

And there is a lot of optimism that such a move will benefit Robinson, who was primarily a slot cornerback in college.

Chicago Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney (11) makes a touchdown catch against New York Giants cornerback Aaron Robinson (33).

Giants CB Aaron Robinson lines up during an OTA drill.

Giants CB Aaron Robinson.

"I think putting him outside will simplify his world and let him play fast," said defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson. "I'm excited to see what he does out there."

Although Robinson played most of his college snaps in the slot, playing in the perimeter isn't exactly foreign to him.

At UCF, Robinson took 188 of his career 292 snaps at outside cornerback in his first two seasons before being moved almost exclusively to the slot--100 of those career snaps coming in his final season for the Knights.

The Giants, who swapped spots in the third round with the Broncos, also flipped the fifth-round pick they acquired in 2021 from the Bears to get into a position to draft Robinson, saw the young corner as a versatile piece for their defense.

But in limited slot snaps last year, Robinson had his struggles. He allowed eight of 12 pass targets to be completed for 85 yards and one touchdown and finished with a 114.9 coverage rating, second-worst among Giants cornerbacks last season.

This year, Robinson is embracing what appears to be a more streamlined role on the Giants' new defense.

"Definitely a great opportunity," Robinson said. "Pretty much just come to work and seize my opportunity to get better every day and be around some great guys."

There's also a big benefit to Robinson's moving primarily to the outside.

"Just being in the slot, there's more green to work with," he said. "Us being DBs, the sideline is our friend."

Even if that means he'll be left on an island more?

"Cornerback is a cornerback," Robinson said. "You're trying to defend your turf. I'm going to try my best to do that the best way I can and get better every day."

That's just fine with the Giants, who, until further notice, seem unsettled at cornerback ahead of training camp, so much so that the team currently has close to a dozen candidates on its 90-man roster for what's projected to be five available openings.

As far as Robinson is concerned, he's focused on building on the mental and physical aspects of his rookie season to be among the projected five come opening day.

"I’d definitely say the opportunities are going to present themselves. It’s a great scheme," he said. "Still learning. Still getting better every day."

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