On paper, New York Giants rookie wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson doesn’t look like he’d be one of the strongest players on the team. He’s only listed at 5-foot-8 and 178 pounds on the Giants’ official website.
But if you watch Robinson bench press, you’ll see that he packs a powerful punch. At the Kentucky NFL Pro Day back in April, Robinson cranked out an impressive 19 reps of 225 pounds. For comparison, Julio Jones is one of the most physically gifted wide receivers of this generation and he only put up 17 reps on the bench press at the 2011 NFL Combine.
Here’s a video of Robinson benching at his pro day, courtesy of Kentucky Sports Radio on Facebook:
So, how did Robinson get so strong?
You don’t have to look very far. His father, Dale Robinson, is a fitness instructor and he’s absolutely jacked. Below is a screenshot from Dale’s official website DaleRobinsonGuru.com.
DaleRobinsonGuru.comDale Robinson is a fitness instructor and the father of New York Giants wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson.
Dale is 43 years old, according to his website, and yet he looks like he could’ve been New York’s second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft rather than his son Wan’Dale.
In his bio on the homepage, Dale details his troubled past and how he turned it into something positive.
“My name is Dale Robinson,” he writes. “I am a twice convicted felon who is on a journey to redemption. At 43 years old, I am honored to say that I have overcome a lifetime of adversity. I have transformed a life of crime into a life of promise, I have learned from and turned away from my own selfish greed, and I am fulfilling a lifelong journey to give back to a community that didn’t turn its back on me. I am a devoted husband, father of two amazing sons, entrepreneur, motivational speaker, activist, and community leader. I am committed to breaking the cycle of incarceration for children that are impacted by it as well as men and women trying to rehabilitate from it.”
As mentioned in the excerpt from his bio, Dale is a motivational speaker. He’s also an author of a book called The Making of a Guru, which is available for sale on Amazon.
How Wan’Dale Robinson’s Father Helped Him Get Drafted
Robinson started his collegiate career as a running back at Nebraska, before transferring to Kentucky and establishing himself as a wide receiver. Robinson’s father is the one that encouraged him to transfer, and he attributes the Giants drafting him in the second round to that decision.
Here’s Wan’Dale and his father speaking to Alex Walker of WKYT on draft night:
“I can truly tell you I don’t think I would be drafted in the 2nd Round right now if I didn’t choose to come to @UKFootball.”
@wanda1erobinson + @DRobinson_Guru credit Kentucky for their early selection in the #NFLDraft.
They credit @UKCoachStoops, @vincemarrow + @LiamCoen #BBN
“We were at Nebraska and at one point I was like, ‘Listen, we gotta make a change,'” Dale told WKYT. “Like I tell him all the time, there’s a thousand ways to get to your destination so we gotta take a different route to get to where we wanted to go.”
CBS Sports Writer Makes Bold Robinson Bet
When the Giants selected Robinson in this year’s draft, many wondered how that would affect 2021 first-round draft pick Kadarius Toney. Robinson and Toney have a similar skillset, and there are only so many touches to go around.
I asked one of CBS Sports’ top NFL draft analysts, Chris Trapasso, to place a hypothetical bet for the next four years on either Toney or Robinson and here’s what he said:
Robinson has an advantage over Toney, according to Trapasso, because the current regime led by general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll drafted him. Toney, on the other hand, is a leftover from the Dave Gettleman/Joe Judge era.
The Giants could utilize Robinson and Toney in a Tyreek Hill-like role, with both playmakers competing for those reps in training camp.
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Wan’Dale Robinson’s Crazy Bench Press Makes Sense After You See His Jacked Dad