Brian Robison’s legacy for Vikings extends beyond the numbers

The former Minnesota Vikings defensive end retired on Wednesday afternoon, but leaves a legacy with his play on the field and his development off of it.

It was the summer of 2014. Long starving for some sort of journalistic opportunity, I decided to pick up the chance to cover training camp for the Minnesota Vikings. While I had done some blogging for Bleacher Report and other sites to begin my career, the experience was deeply terrifying as it was my first chance to work in the actual field as opposed to sitting on my couch spitting hot takes.

As I stood there and spent most of my time at camp trying not to go full fan-boy when Adrian Peterson walked past, I was also trying to get some content for the websites I was writing for. Fearing getting my head ripped off for asking a simple question, the Vikings held their daily media scrums after practice. Falling victim to the box out drills that occur in these scrums, I took what I could from each Vikings player without the chance to ask a question of my own.

The group of Vikings players eventually thinned down and as most of the media members were digesting what was given to them, there was one Viking who stood and talked to everyone that wanted an interview — even those writing in the deepest corners of the internet like myself.

That player was Brian Robison, who began his career as a little-known fourth round pick out of Texas to become a fixture on the Vikings defensive line throughout his 11-year career. Along with being a fan and media favorite thanks to his personality, he also became somewhat a poster child for how the Vikings were built along the defensive line.

In two seasons as a starter at Texas, Robison didn’t have the eye-popping stats that most sexy draft picks have. With just 11 sacks in 2005 and 2006, Robison had the label of a good but not great player as he played a small role as a member of the Longhorns’ national championship team in 2005.

What would stand out to the Vikings were Robison’s athletic traits as he ranked in the upper percentiles in the vertical jump (97th percentile among 2007 draft class), 40-yard dash (83rd), 20-yard shuttle (82nd percentile) and broad jump (82nd). With Robinson’s traits, the thought was that the Vikings could coach Robinson up and turn him into a contributor to the defense over time.

That plan played out during the first four seasons of Robinson’s career as a part-time pass rush specialist that notched 13.5 sacks from 2007-2010. With Ray Edwards departing to become a member of the Atlanta Falcons in 2011, Robison was thrust into the starting lineup and immediately produced with eight sacks in his first full season as a starter.

From there, the chains were off as Robison became a starter for the next six seasons in Minnesota, racking up 42.5 sacks and becoming a great compliment to Jared Allen on the opposite side. By the time he was released prior to the 2018 season, Robison had racked up 60 career sacks, good for fifth all-time in franchise history.

Robison’s path was also duplicated in terms of how the Vikings currently try to find defensive line prospects. That process has produced multiple starters on Minnesota’s defensive front including Everson Griffen (4th round, 2010) and Danielle Hunter (3rd round, 2015) and may produce another in Stephen Weatherly (7th round, 2016).

With his steady play on the field and his leadership off of it, it’s fitting that Robison would decide to retire as a Viking, signing a one-year contract to retire with the team on Wednesday afternoon. While he may never enter the NFL Hall of Fame for his efforts, he has left a huge mark on Minnesota and should be considered as one of the best to don a purple jersey.