Robinson was an 11-game starter last season.
Even though he had to wait until the fourth round to hear his name called, Layden Robinson managed to positively to the New England Patriots as a rookie. The 103rd overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft went on to start 11 games in his first season as a pro, showing some encouraging development along the way.
Now heading into his second training camp as a pro, Robinson knows that there is no time to rest on his laurels. Instead, his mindset is on improvement.
“I feel like I had a good starting point. Wasn’t perfect but I feel like I got my feet wet my rookie year,” the 24-year-old told KPRC 2 Houston’s Aaron Wilson at a youth football camp in Texas last week.
“I feel like it was a success, in my opinion. Now, it’s just me building. Keep getting better every day and not being satisfied with what happened last year. It’s a whole new year and there’s a bigger target on everybody’s back.”
Robinson was a starter out of the gate in 2024, playing every single offensive snap at right guard over the first four weeks of the season. However, New England’s coaching staff decided to shuffle the deck in Week 5 resulting in the rookie’s benching.
It took until Week 13 for Robinson to return to the lineup, but once he did he never left. Over the final five games of the year, the youngster added 313 snaps to his résumé — all at left guard — and looked significantly better than earlier in the season.
Whether or not Robinson will get a chance to build on this promising end to his first NFL campaign in training camp will be seen. He only saw minimal opportunities during the open portion of the offseason workout program and appears to have lost his starting role to former first-round draft pick Cole Strange.
Robinson, however, is focused purely on himself rather than any depth charts or pecking orders.
“Just going out there and playing ball, and just evolving,” he said. “That’s the best thing about this game. You’re never set, you’re always learning new stuff, and you’re always getting better so the game doesn’t pass you by. It’s a great thing for me to be out there. It’s a blessing to be in the position I’m in.”
Robinson and the rest of New England’s veteran players are scheduled to report to training camp on Tuesday, July 22.