Ty Robinson, the longtime Nebraska football defensive lineman who spent all six of his college seasons with the Huskers, has come off the board in the 2025 NFL Draft.
The Philadelphia Eagles selected Robinson in the fourth round of the draft with the No. 111 overall pick on Saturday.
"Speaking of tough, Ty Robinson out of Nebraska rocking that single-digit (jersey)," NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah said on the TV broadcast after the Eagles' selection. "Started at defensive end, he tested extremely well, and that was almost surprising how well he tested. He's very explosive, he's firm at the point of attack. He's a little big tight and segmented, he's not the most fluid mover. But if you want someone who can just dart up the field and play with burst and explosiveness, he's gonna be able to do that right away."
NFL Network's Charles Davis added: "I'm glad you brought up the testing because when you watch him play, your first (observation) is all-out effort, all-out motor and all that. Sometimes, it obscures the fact that this guy can flat out play football, and that's what you dig into and that's what you find. That (fit) makes perfect sense for the Philadelphia Eagles. They're always gonna find guys that can rush the passer, they're always gonna find ways to replenish, and Ty Robinson helps them do that."
Robinson, a 6-foot-5 and 288-pound defensive tackle prospect, is now the first Nebraska football player taken in the draft since EDGE Ochaun Mathis (189th overall) and receiver Trey Palmer (191st) were taken within three picks of each other in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Robinson is the highest-drafted former Husker since cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt (60th overall) was picked in the second round of the 2022 draft.
The Huskers' program saw two players taken in the third round in 2016 (DTs Maliek Collins and Vincent Valentine with pick Nos. 67 and 96 overall, respectively) and two players selected in the second round in 2022 (center Cam Jurgens at No. 51 overall and Taylor-Britt).
In between the selections of Valentine in 2016 and Jurgens in 2022, eight former Huskers were taken in the draft. Only one of those eight was taken higher than the fifth round (OL Alex Lewis, a fourth-rounder at No. 130 overall in 2016). The other seven were selected in Rounds 5-7.
It seems perfectly fitting that Robinson – the first Husker interior defensive lineman drafted since Khalil and Carlos Davis in the sixth and seventh rounds, respectively, in 2020 – has become the third-highest drafted Husker since the Collins/Valentine tandem.
Robinson – who wore No. 9 in 2023 and 2024 as one of 10 Huskers to earn a single-digit number in a team vote selecting him as one of Nebraska's "toughest" players – was widely respected as the leading voice on the Huskers' defense on the field and in the locker room. He was also regarded as one of the faces of the program, which served as one core reason he was selected as one of just three players to take the postgame podium following the team's first bowl game appearance since 2016 (and first bowl victory since 2015) in December.
He developed and cemented himself in those roles during his final two college seasons, when he emerged as the No. 1 supporter of the Matt Rhule Era on the players' side and a trusted confidant of Rhule over his first two seasons at Nebraska.
"I think the thing that we’re trying to get done, is we really, really want our players, when they go to the NFL, to be pros," Rhule said on Tuesday, two days before the start of the draft. "As I tell them, when you’re in year one, I want you to be in year three mentally, if that makes sense. The guys are trying to figure out how to take notes and learn all of this information. We’ve put them in an environment where year one is actually year three and they’re further ahead.
"Ty Robinson spoke to the team. He went to the Senior Bowl, and day one, he was third-team. Day two, he was first-team. He knows how to practice. He knows how to take care of his body. He knows how to take notes and those things. I’m going to be really, really excited. I love that group of guys. I love the first group that was here. They took a chance on me and our staff and they stayed.”
Robinson finished his career having totaled 60 games, tying Nebraska's program record for games played. He started 47 of those games, amassing 134 career tackles (60 solo), 26.5 tackles-for-loss, 12.0 sacks and one forced fumble. He also recorded 12 pass breakups, developing a savviness of batting the ball down at the line of scrimmage.
His breakout season came in his final year when he was named to the Associated Press Second-Team All-Big Ten Team and voted Third Team All-Big Ten by both the Big Ten coaches and media. Those honors followed a season in which he recorded career highs in total tackles (37), TFLs (12.0) and sacks (7.0). He also added 42 pressures, 25 quarterback hurries, four PBUs, one blocked field goal and forced one safety while starting all 13 games and playing 75 percent of the team's defensive snaps (598 out of 796).
As a junior, Robinson played in all 12 games with 11 starts and was one of the core leaders of a resurgent defense that improved from being one of the Big Ten's worst units in 2022 into one of its best in 2023. He posted 29 total tackles, six PBUs, 4.0 TFLs, 28 pressures, 11 quarterback hurries and one blocked field goal for a defense that posted Nebraska's best numbers since joining the Big Ten in 2011 in three categories: Rushing defense (92.9 rushing yards allowed per game), total defense (303.5 yards allowed per game) and scoring defense (18.3 points allowed per game). The Huskers ranked in the Top 20 nationally in each of those three categories.
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Ty Robinson NFL Draft analysis + player comparison
Robinson joined tight end Thomas Fidone, cornerback Tommi HIll and receiver Isaiah Neyor as one of four Huskers in this year's draft invited to the NFL Combine in late February/early March.
Robinson left Indianapolis tied with former Toledo DL Darius Alexander for the 17th-best prospect grade among defensive tackles in the 2025 draft, and he entered the draft with the 9th-best prospect score among DTs – both according to data used by NFL.com.
He entered the NFL Draft expected to be Nebraska's highest pick in the draft, and some draft analysts believed the disruptive interior presence could go as high as the second round. The consensus belief was that his draft position would range between a low second-round pick to the fourth round with some believing he could get taken in the fifth round.
NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah and The Athletic's Dane Brugler – arguably the two most trustworthy draft analysts in a sports media landscape overloaded with them – had Robinson listed as the No. 103 overall prospect (Jeremiah) and the No. 12 defensive tackle with a Round 3-4 grade (Brugler).
Pro Football Focus had him ranked as the No. 120 prospect and the No. 15 interior defender. ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller listed Robinson as the No. 51 overall prospect on his big board, and ESPN's Field Yates ranked him as the No. 91 overall prospect with a third-round grade. NBC Sports' Connor Rogers had Robinson ranked as the No. 99 overall prospect.
NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein projected Robinson to go in the fifth round, and he gave Robinson an NFL player comparison to Indianapolis Colts DT Grover Stewart, a veteran mainstay with the Colts who is entering his ninth year in the league.
"Bully with a roughshod playing style that forces blockers to match his physicality," Zierlien wrote in his prospect analysis on the former Husker. "Robinson is built for the trenches with the versatility to play in odd or even fronts. He’s first into contact with his hands and mitigates average knee-bend with brute force in his upper half. He’s powerful to set edges but lacks length to control and quickly shed NFL blockers. He’s an effort rusher with active hands who can exploit a weak edge and thrive in gaming fronts but possesses average creativity. Robinson might not be a star, but his effort, strength and demeanor could make him a productive pro for years to come.
Stewart was a fourth-round selection in the 2017 draft who has racked up 280 total tackles and 9.0 sacks over his first eight seasons. He finished the 2024 season with the 10th-best defensive grade and fifth-best run defense grade among DTs who played at least 600 snaps (76.0 defensive grade and 78.7 run defense grade on 690 snaps, per PFF). Excluding the 2023 season when he was limited to 445 snaps in 11 starts while serving a six-game suspension for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs, Stewart has played at least 580 snaps in each of his five seasons as a starter.
Stewart, similar to Robinson with the Huskers, is a run-stuffing interior D-lineman who has spent his entire career with the same organization. Stewart became a full-time starter in 2019 following his first two seasons as a backup in Indianapolis, and he has since signed two three-year contract extensions totaling just shy of $70 million.
Unquestionably, a similar career path would be an absolutely remarkable success for Robinson, who many believe has the same type of ability and potential to become a stalwart veteran in the NFL.
Other Nebraska football 2025 NFL Draft hopefuls
Fidone, Hill, Neyor and defensive tackle Nash Hutmacher are the other former Huskers who have the highest chance of being selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. Fidone is the most likely to hear his name called, and he has been projected by nearly every reputable draft analyst to get taken on Day 3 – anywhere from Rounds 5-7 on Saturday.
Nebraska has not had at least five players drafted since 2011, when the program saw seven former players get selected – highlighted by cornerback Prince Amukamara, the Huskers' most recent first-round pick at No. 19 overall.
In all likelihood, though, the best-case scenario for Nebraska will be seeing four of its former players get drafted (Robinson, Fidone, Hill and Neyor), which would match the 2012 and 2016 classes for the program's most selections in a single draft since 2011.
In addition to Hutmacher, offensive linemen Bryce Benhart, Micah Mazzccua and Ben Scott, linebackers John Bullock and MJ Sherman, running back Rahmir Johnson, defensive back Isaac Gifford and punter Brian Buschini all have a strong chance of earning UDFA deals (undrafted free agent) once the dust settles post-draft on Saturday and Sunday.
“I think it’s very important to say that most of those guys were brought here by Scott Frost and his staff and his strength staff and all those people that were here," Rhule said on Tuesday. "I think that’s very, very important to say. Ty Robinson, Nash Hutmacher, Isaac Gifford, Fidone – those guys were brought here under that staff. I know the impact Coach Beckton (former tight ends coach Sean Beckton) had on Thomas and the relationship that they had. I think that’s important to say.
"We took an approach when we got here with everyone that was here – there was no ‘you’re old guys and new guys.’ You’re our guys. We tried to take that approach. We tried to develop. Corey (strength coach Corey Campbell) and those guys downstairs do a really nice job."
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