Cincinnati Bengals select Brad Robbins in sixth round of 2023 NFL Draft
Michigan football punter Brad Robbins has taken his career to the professional level with the Cincinnati Bengals drafting him in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft with the No. 217 overall pick. He joins roommate Jake Moody in the NFL, who was taken with the No. 99 overall pick by the San Francisco 49ers on Friday night. Robbins will be teamed back up with Michigan cornerback DJ Turner, who the Bengals chose in the second round.
Robbins appeared in 45 games during his Michigan career, earning All-Big Ten honors three times (honorable mention, coaches, 2017, 2020-21; media, 2020-21) and is the program’s only two-time recipient of the Robert P. Ufer Bequest (2021-22). He finished his time in Ann Arbor with the No. 2 career punting average (42.0 yards per attempt) and No. 2 single-season average in U-M history (46.33 in 2021). Robbins was also fifth in total punt yards (7,698) in his career.
“The directional ability — he knows what he’s doing,” ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said on the broadcast. “It’s not just, boom a ball 60 yards. He has the ability to get the ball out and also allow his coverage team to get down, make a tackle and pin the opponent deep in their own territory. That’s the thing that made [him] … the hang time of this kid was consistently outstanding. He’s a smart punter, as well. Knows what he needs to do to help his football team win. That’s what [head coach] Jim Harbaugh is all about at Michigan.
“I think he has the chance to make it in the NFL. He certainly has the NFL ability without the huge leg.”
“Let me add one thing to your scouting report,” Todd McShay chimed in, “he holds on place kicks. I’m just saying, giving you a note, a little nugget.”
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Robbins was a member of Michigan’s 2017 recruiting class, where he was a three-star recruit and the No. 2075 player nationally (On3 Industry Ranking) out of Westerville, Ohio. Robbins spearheaded the “Pin Cancer Deep” drive at U-M over the last two seasons, which raised over $7,000 last season and $13,031 in 2022. He donated $50 for every punt inside the opponent’s 20-yard line and $50 for every punt at or longer than 50 yards as part of the campaign.
“Finesse punter who will be much better at pinning opponents near their own end zone than bailing his team out with power,” NFL.com’s Lance Zielein writes. “He punts with much better hang-time than we are used to seeing from college punters and landed nearly half of his punts inside the 20-yard line in 2022.”
Zierlein also outlined the strengths and weaknesses of Robbins as a punting prospect:
Strengths
- Punts with above-average hang-time.
- Allows very few return attempts.
- Solid in executing directional punts.
- Displayed good touch with no touchbacks in 2022.
Weaknesses
- Inconsistent driving the ball in the open field.
- Touch-to-toe time is a little slow.
- Had punt blocked and returned for a touchdown against Rutgers.
Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline believed that Robbins was worth a late-round pick for potentially interested teams.
“Robbins is an outstanding directional punter with the ability to place the ball wherever necessary and get enough hang time on punts to allow coverage units to make their way downfield,” he wrote. “His overall leg strength is not elite, yet Robbins does enough things well to get consideration in the late rounds.”
Round 1 of the NFL Draft took place on Thursday, Apr. 27. Rounds 2-3 went on Friday, Apr. 28, and Rounds 4-7 will begin at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, Apr. 29. The draft will be broadcast throughout the weekend on both ESPN and NFL Network.
