Laurent Robinson: Best Dallas Cowboys Free Agent Pickup Ever?

By: Toby Christie – @tobalical

Another week down, and another impressive showing by Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Laurent Robinson.

With his seven snags in the week 12 (two of which were touchdowns) the Cowboys were able to edge out the Miami Dolphins 20-19 to extend their current win streak to four games. Robinson now has a grand total of seven touchdown receptions in the past five games, and he has been a crucial – if not the most crucial – cog for the Cowboys offense during this most recent stretch of the season.

Robinson’s road to being a playmaker was as long and windy as any that have come before him. He was a stud in the NCAA a Illinois State, which led to him being drafted in the third round of the 2007 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons.

In his rookie season Robinson exploded with 37 receptions for 437 yards, but the following year he was only able to nab five catches for 52 yards – this ultimately led to him being traded to the St. Louis Rams in 2009.

Robinson had a quick start to his campaign as a Ram as he was leading the team in receptions (13) and a receiving yards (167) before fracturing his fibula and ending his season. As the 2010 season progressed Robinson found himself further down the depth chart in St. Louis behind Donnie Avery and Danny Amendola just to name a few and by year’s end he was no longer a St. Louis Ram.

Then came this past August when the San Diego Chargers decided to take a chance on Robinson, only to cut him after a six catch – 120 yard effort in the team’s final preseason game.

Robinson was then acquired by the Dallas Cowboys on September 7, 2011 only to be released six days later. Then a week later Robinson resigned with the Cowboys where he now appears to be a long-term fixture in the making. Talk about a long a troublesome road to success, but I’m sure every Dallas Cowboys fan is glad Robinson kept his head up through all of the hard times.

When you think about notable Dallas Cowboys free agent pickups through the years I believe Robinson has cemented his legacy near the top. In my honest opinion he’s not quite at the very top just yet, but he’s close. The only name left on the list that he has yet to surpass in my book would be “Primetime” Deion Sanders.

That’s right No. 81 is more important to this year’s Cowboys team in my opinion than Terrell Owens – the original No. 81 – was in 2006, Rocket Ismail in 1999 and even Leonard Davis in 2007. Robinson has started four games for “Big D” this season, in those games the Cowboys are an astonishing 3-1, with the only loss coming in week week four to the Detroit Lions in a game the Cowboys had all but won until a late collapse by Tony Romo.

Robinson has the speed to beat just about every cornerback in the league deep, he has the hands to make difficult catches, and he has the instincts to make plays happen when Tony Romo shakes his way out of the pocket. With all of the talk of the Philadelphia Eagle’s free agent pickups in 2011, Laurent Robinson of the Cowboys is by far the best free agent signing in all of the NFL this year.