Mentioning any player as a potential Hall of Famer -- much less one who never has taken an NFL snap -- makes observers sit up and take notice, which means former Auburn offensive tackle Greg Robinson will be a heavily scrutinized guy the next few seasons.
Robinson was the prospect NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah mentioned when he was asked if there are any future Hall of Famers in this year's draft class during an interview on "The Dave Dameshek Football Program".
"I've compared (Robinson) to Willie Roaf a little bit," Jeremiah said.
Roaf played 13 seasons in the NFL and was an 11-time Pro Bowler. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012. Roaf, who was 6-foot-5 and 320 pounds, was the eighth overall pick in the 1993 draft, by the New Orleans Saints.
Robinson (6-5, 332) should go earlier in the draft than Roaf -- he seems a lock to go in the top five and could go as high as No. 2, to the St. Louis Rams.
Robinson has played just two seasons of offensive tackle and arrived at Auburn as one of the nation's top high school guards. He is a road-grading run blocker who must improve in pass protection.
"As a run blocker, he's so powerful," Jeremiah told Dameshek.
Robinson's run-blocking ability was on display last season at Auburn, as the run-heavy Tigers made it to the BCS national championship game before falling to Florida State.
Robinson is ranked third on Jeremiah's list of the draft's top 50 prospects. While Jeremiah writes in his rankings that Robinson's run blocking is more advanced than his pass blocking, he also wrote that Robinson "has enough quickness to cover up speed rushers and he can squat to stall power rushers."
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
