Rams trade for Atlanta WR Laurent Robinson

[Rams4Life]

The Falcons traded reserve wide receiver Laurent Robinson to the St. Louis Rams on Monday.

As part of the trade, the Falcons and the Rams swapped positions in the fifth and sixth rounds of the draft, Atlanta announced in a release.


The Falcons sent their fifth round pick (160th overall) and sixth round pick (196th) to the Rams and received the Rams’ fifth round pick (138) and their sixth round pick (176). The Falcons moved up 22 spots in the fifth round and 20 in the sixth round.

Robinson had a promising rookie season in 2007 after being selected in the third round (75th overall) of the 2007 draft. He had 37 catches, including a 74-yard touchdown catch.

Last season, he played in just six games and caught five passes. He suffered a concussion and battled a hamstring injury.

[txramsfan]

Let's hope the hammy is better.

[Ramer]

I saw some 07 highlights of him. He does have speed when healthy.

[bruce4life]

Is this guy a solid player? I have no clue. I know during the 07' draft I thought the falcons reached for him.

[jbell15]

This guy is bomb, i loved him coming out in '07. I hope he stays healthy

[Rambunctious]

Last season, he played in just six games and caught five passes. He suffered a concussion and battled a hamstring injury.

That's five more games and four more catches than Bennett... and we don't have to pay as much.

Seriously this could be a great pick-up to cost ratio for us. I bet they figured out who they wanted to target in rounds 5 and 6 and knew they could get the players later in the rounds. If that is the case this is just like signing a free agent.

The message I'm getting is we don't need a big name receiver. When we run it will be Jackson but when we throw... they are going to spread it around like butter on a biscuit.

[smizzhfx]

Seems like a minimal cost for the amount of upside a guy like Laurent Robinson. We are perilously thin at WR and hopefully he can come in and earn some time.

[Varg6]

The message I'm getting is we don't need a big name receiver. When we run it will be Jackson but when we throw... they are going to spread it around like butter on a biscuit.

And let's not forget, we still have Randy McMichael who is a playmaker, and Jackson does have hands. I think we'll be fine, and if this guy emerges as another good player, that'd be great. If not, we didn't lose much, so I see this as a win-win situation for us.

[tbone]

I'm a die hard Falcons fan and can authoritatively say that you just STOLE, I mean STOLE, a TREMENDOUS play maker. This guy is DAMN good. You will see. Get him on your fantasy team.

I also must say that I have a lot of respect for our Falcon GM. There must have been either a lingering injury question or some sort of character issue for us to GIVE this guy away. Nonetheless, you guys should be popping champaign over this deal.

[39thebeast]

Devaney gets hooked up by his old organization. This definately lessens the need for a WR and allows us to do more things on defense. 6'2 adds some size. This guy definately adds talent and even more speed than we have right now. I really like the trade

[MauiRam]

04.06.2009 5:34 pm
Updated: St. Louis Rams trade for Atlanta WR Laurent Robinson
By Jim Thomas
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The Rams need help at the wide receiver position and got some Monday by trading for Atlanta wideout Laurent Robinson. The Rams acquired Robinson by switching draft positions with the Falcons in both the fifth and sixth rounds. They didn’t lose any picks; they just changed positions in both rounds with Atlanta.

The Rams get Atlanta’s fifth-round (No. 160 overall) and sixth-round (No. 196 overall) picks; Atlanta gets the Rams’ fifth-round (No. 138 overall) and sixth-round (No. 176 overall) picks.

Robinson was a third-round pick by the Falcons out of Illinois State in 2007. Rams general manager Billy Devaney was with the Falcons at that time and in the draft room when Robinson was selected.

Robinson started six games for the Falcons as a rookie, including the season opener. For the year, he appeared in 15 games with 37 catches for 437 yards. His only TD of the year was a 74-yard catch-and-run against Arizona in Game 15.

But Robinson was a Bobby Petrino draft pick, and fell out of favor with new head coach Mike Smith in 2008. Slowed by hamstring problems, Robinson appeared in just six games for the Falcons last season, catching five passes for 52 yards.

Robinson has good size at 6-2, 194 pounds, and is considered a speed guy with good hands. But the injury problems didn’t help his cause in Atlanta. Neither did the fact that he wasn’t considered physical enough by Smith’s staff, particularly as a blocker.

The Rams’ inherit his contract as a result of the trade, and Robinson comes cheaply. He has two years left on his contract and is scheduled to make $460,000 this season and $550,000 in 2010.The Rams have made no promises about his role in St. Louis; he will simply compete for playing time.

[Goldenfleece]

Well, you can't give up much less than that in a trade. We swapped a fifth and a sixth for...a fifth, a sixth, and a player. As long as he's still on the roster opening day, it's a good deal.

[C-Mob 71]

I'm a big fan of this trade. Watched a little bit of Laurent at Illinois State, his Redbird QB, Luke Drone, was from my hometown. He got hurt his senior year and really affected the Birds. He may have a bit of an injury problem, but when he is healthy the guy has skills.

[RealRam]

Hmmm, makes for interesting competition internally.

[RamsSB99]

Here is a video of him.

YouTube - laurent robinson



He ran a 4.38 at his combine in 2007 and his fastest 40 was 4.35. They say he has really good habds to go with his speed. The only thing I don't know about is his route running and how physical he is but speed and good hands is a good start. Not to mention he started as a rookie and was slated to be a starter last year before injury.