Que Robinson showed his hands, but had no intention of actually engaging with them.
As he flashed his mitts toward Green Bay reserve tackle Brant Banks on Friday night, Banks raised his to counter.
Just as he did, though, Robinson dipped his right shoulder low, bent around Banks and exploded toward quarterback Kyle McCord, who never had a chance to throw the ball away or even think about escaping.
Unlike some players who see action in the second half of preseason games this time of year, a 10-yard sack midway through the third quarter Friday night for Robinson is hardly the biggest play he’s made in his career.
Que Robinson with a BIG sack 😤
GBvsDEN on
Stream on— NFL (@NFL)
That came back in January, of course, when Robinson sacked New England quarterback Drake Maye in the AFC Championship Game.
This play, though, held significance for Denver’s second-year outside linebacker.
Robinson is one of the primary names mentioned when the conversation turns to 2026 breakout candidates for the Broncos. He’s got the size, speed and physicality to blossom into a steal of a fourth-round draft pick.
In order to do so, though, Robinson must continue to refine his game. During his rookie season, he only got six games’ worth of playing time plus the conference title game.
That makes playing time like his 23 snaps on Friday all the more valuable.
And it makes cashing in a move like the one he pulled on the sack feel quite distinctly like a step forward.
“Shoot, man, I’ve been giving our offensive tackles hell all of camp,” Robinson said in the postgame locker room. “So it feels pretty good to go against somebody else and work a move that I’ve been practicing for I don’t know how long.
“It felt pretty good. It probably would have felt better if we’d have won.”
This is all part of the process for Robinson, who went from a little-used defensive player at the University of Alabama — he played all of 370 defensive snaps in four seasons there because he primarily backed up first-round picks Will Anderson and Dallas Turner — to one of the most promising young players on the Broncos’ loaded defensive front.
“There were certain traits you saw on film,” head coach Sean Payton said earlier this month. “He’s a real good technician and he’s one of those guys that we know has been coached hard. We felt coming into this defense from what he was playing in, there were some similarities to what we were going to ask him to do. I think thatap a help.”
Robinson, general manager George Paton, said after the season, might have the most upside of any defensive player in Denver’s 2025 draft class. This summer, defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said Robinson needed to play more and that he has the ability to be a starter for Denver.
Players, too, will happily endorse him as a potential impact player.
“Que is obviously a very talented guy. He’s showing out every day in practice,” outside linebacker Nik Bonitto said before Denver’s preseason opener at Atlanta. “He has all the tools and whenever he sets his mind to it, nobody can block him. He’s been playing really well right now and I’m excited especially to see these next couple of games what he does out there.
“I know he’s going to put on a show for sure.”
He did on Friday against the Packers, harassing both Tyrod Taylor and McCord. On one pressure against Taylor, Robinson sped 10 yards up the field, found himself stymied by left tackle John Williams, spun, backtracked by 5 yards, saw Taylor trying to escape his direction and then closed 10 yards back to Taylor in a blink, blasting him as he threw the ball out of bounds well over receiver Bo Melton’s head.
The 25-year-old is learning the play-by-play rhythm of the NFL. He’s also trying to make sure he always has a plan and knows it, but also that he plays fast regardless of whether what happens in front of him resembles his plan at all.
“I’m able to play fast and go, man,” He said. “The guys in my room and, shoot, really, the team believes in me. They’ve got high hopes for me. I’ve just got to try to prove them right and put all my energy out there on the field for everybody. …
“I don’t want to go out there half-stepping or getting in my own head. Or being like, ‘oh, my pinky hurts, poor me’ and stuff like that.”
Robinson’s work so far is going to make it difficult to keep him off the field, though he’s still refining his run defense and down-to-down consistency. The splash is there. Even in a room that returns all four of its regular rotation members from a year ago — pending, at least, potential discipline for Jonathon Cooper at or near the start of the regular season —Robinson’s attempting to carve a bigger role.
“You’ve got to make it count,” he said of the preseason chances. “This is a great defense. You’ve got Nik and Coop and Jonah and all those guys out there giving it their all.
“When I get my opportunities, I feel like I’d be doing them a disservice if I don’t do the same.”
