Rookie edge rusher Que Robinson adds some pass rush depth and likely an instant contributor on special teams.
With their 134th overall selection in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos selected Alabama edge rusher Que Robinson. He adds depth to an already talented Broncos edge-rushing group while also providing them with a player who can immediately contribute on special teams.
He played four seasons at Alabama, appearing in 43 games during his time there. During those games, he totaled 54 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, 6 sacks, and 1 forced fumble. This past year, he appeared in 9 games and totaled 23 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss, 4 sacks, and 1 forced fumble.
Broncos may have found the steal of the draft here with EDGE Que Robinson pic.twitter.com/tCwL1l5OPt
— MileHighReport (@MileHighReport) April 26, 2025
He’s an interesting player due to the fact that he played sparingly on defense, but did have nearly 700 career special-teams snaps during his time at Alabama. He did flash potential as a pass rusher, but the strength of his game was his ability on special teams. Robinson is not coming in to contribute right away as a pass rusher, but his special-teams ability will likely have him active on gameday as a rookie this upcoming season.
Player Profile
Que Robinson | Edge Rusher | Broncos
- Height: 6-4
- Weight: 243 pounds
- Age: 24 years old
- Experience: Rookie
- Arm Length: 33 1⁄2 inches
Broncos EDGE Que Robinson’s 2025 Outlook
It’s mostly going to be on special teams.
First, the Broncos have four edge rushers currently on the roster who all produced last season. Nik Bonitto had 13.5 sacks, Jonathon Cooper had 10.5 sacks, and both Jonah Elliss and Dondrea Tillman had 5 sacks. So, Robinson will likely slide in as the Broncos’ fifth edge rusher on the depth chart and will provide some depth. This is probably best for him due to the fact that he will need some development before he is NFL-ready. While he flashed some potential at Alabama, he lacks snaps, experience, and production as an edge rusher. So, he’ll have time to grow and develop as an edge rusher this season. His growth and development this summer during training camp and the preseason will be interesting to watch.
As for special teams, Robinson was a core special-teams player for Nick Saban and enters the NFL as a very experienced and accomplished special-teams player. We all know how Payton values this skill set, and Robinson has a good shot at being active come week one due to his special-teams ability.
After being drafted by the Broncos, Robinson met with the media and was asked why he takes so much pride in playing special teams. He told reporters simply that “I like to win” and that he is willing to do whatever it takes to win a game.
“I like to win. If that means running down on kickoffs 5,000 times and being on punt 4,000 times, I want to do it. I like to win. That’s my huge driving force in terms of being a football player. I just like to win and willing to do whatever it takes to win a game for sure.”
After day three of the 2025 NFL Draft, Broncos General Manager George Paton was asked about what they saw in Alabama edge rusher Que Robinson. He told reporters that Robinson has all the traits you look for in an edge rusher, while mentioning his lack of playing time, but did say, “he can be a hardcore special teamer” in the meantime.
“We’ve been seeing flashes of him the last four years at Alabama, really the last two on defense. But you look throughout his career, just the special team plays. I think he had 16, especially in tackles, in the last two years. You see the athletic traits, the athletic ability, the length, the speed, the way he plays, the motor he plays with. He’s played behind some really good outside backers like Will Anderson, Dallas Turner, guys like that. So, he wasn’t playing a whole lot this year, kind of clicked on defense and then obviously he got the injury, but he has all the traits you look for at that position and yet, in the meantime, he can be a hardcore special teamer so that’s what attracted us.”
As Paton mentions, Robinson is coming off a season-ending elbow injury that kept him from testing and working out during the pre-draft process. However, he seems fully recovered from that and will be good to go for the offseason workout, training camp, and the preseason.
Final Thoughts
Could Que Robinson be a core special-teams player as a rookie? That seems possible. Former Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban spoke highly of Robinon because of his special team ability, and I believe Sean Payton will feel the same. It’s likely we see Robinson active come week one and be a key member of Darren Rizzi’s special teams unit this upcoming season.
As an edge rusher, the traits, explosive first step, bend, aggressive play style, and talent are all there. However, he simply lacks experience and will need time to develop before he is an NFL-ready edge rusher. I am excited to see how he looks this summer and hopefully, he is a fast learner and can make the Broncos’ pass rush even more dangerous this upcoming season.