Missouri Tigers’ Darius Robinson picked 27th overall in Round 1 of 2024 NFL Draft

Mizzou’s Cotton Bowl-winning season now counts another accolade: a first-round NFL Draft pick.

With the 27th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night selected versatile Missouri Tigers defensive lineman Darius Robinson.

Robinson, who grew up about 15 miles from the draft’s host city Detroit in Southfield, was one of the 13 college football invitees in attendance to hear his name called.

In his final season with the Tigers, Robinson recorded 43 tackles (14 for loss) in a first-team All-SEC campaign. He also recorded 8.5 sacks with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in 12 games this season.

Robinson earned a 6.37 prospect grade from this year’s Combine, placing him in the “will eventually be a plus starter” category, per NFL’s grading system. NFL analyst Lance Zierlein had this in his analysis:

“Right out of the gate, Robinson’s physical attributes should give him a potential advantage in head-to-head matchups,” Zierlein said. “He has jarring power in his hands and a twitchy upper body to get rid of blockers quickly. His arm length is a weapon at the point of attack.”

With his selection, Robinson is the highest-drafted Tiger since Nick Bolton (2021, 58th overall) and their first first-round selection since Charles Harris (2017, 22nd overall).