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The Cleveland Browns have drafted Dorian Thompson-Robinson with the 140th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He will likely be the backup to Deshaun Watson and get ample opportunity to develop at the next level.
A five-year starter at UCLA, Dorian Thompson-Robinson improved over his college career, even if it wasn’t the leap that was expected. The No. 2 dual-threat quarterback coming out of college, Thompson-Robinson threw for over 5,000 yards and 48 touchdown passes over his final two years in college while rushing for over 1,200 yards. In total, he threw for 10,695 in his college career and rushed for 1,827 yards. He had a 68.6 passing grade and a 73.7 rushing grade in 2022.
Scouting Report
Thomas-Robinson falls on the smaller side 6-foot-2, 203 pounds, but has elite mobility that helps elude oncoming pressure and make noise as a rusher. NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein writes, “While Thompson-Robinson can extend plays and create opportunities for himself outside of the pocket, he’s at his best when he’s throwing on time and utilizing possession throws as his base. He has lapses in vision and judgment against zone and when pressured, so he must cut down on ill-advised throws. Thompson-Robinson has the potential to find a home as a QB3 with a QB2 ceiling.“ NFL.com gave Thomas Robinson a prospect grade of 5.69, which projects him as a bottom-of-the-roster or practice squad player. He was graded with an athleticism score of 77, which was 9th among quarterbacks.
Mock Draft landing spots
In a recent full seven-round mock draft, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler had Thompson-Robinson selected in the sixth round. He went No. 206 overall to the Cincinnati Bengals. In this scenario, Thompson-Robinson would backup Joe Burrow. While this is a favorable real-life scenario, it would be horrible for his fantasy football value.
ESPN’s Matt Miller also put forth a full seven-round mock. Miller doesn’t have Thompson-Robinson hanging around nearly as long. He has the Seattle Seahawks scooping up the quarterback in the fourth round at No. 123. Thompson-Robinson would be the only quarterback taken by Seattle and could compete with Geno Smith as the starter.
Fantasy football implications
It’s hard to imagine Thompson-Robinson will take the field as a rookie, as he’ll likely be viewed as a project by whichever team drafts/signs him. That said, Thompson-Robinson’s dual-threat ability brings some fantasy intrigue, but it’ll be a couple of years before he’ll make any kind of fantasy impact -- if at all.