Dorian
Thompson-Robinson.
Dorian
Thompson-Robinson.
UCLA· 6'2"· 203 lb· 4.56s 40
"Five years of UCLA starts made Thompson-Robinson the most experienced dual-threat in the class, and also the clearest case study in how long a quarterback can play without the accuracy ever settling down."Pre-draft read
Thompson-Robinson is a compact dual-threat quarterback who plays fast in every sense. He is genuinely dangerous with the ball in his hands — 465 career carries, 1,838 yards and 28 rushing touchdowns — and a defense has to account for the quarterback run on every zone-read look, which is the foundation of his offensive value.
As a passer he is at his best on the move and on defined half-field reads, where he can throw with rhythm off play action. The arm has enough juice for the intermediate boundary throw, but the mechanics fluctuate: his base widens under pressure, the release drops, and the ball sails. The signature of the tape is improvisation, both the flashes that win games and the off-schedule decisions that lose them.
Spread RPO passing and designed QB run concepts are the best system for Thompson-Robinson, utilizing his athleticism and playmaking outside the pocket.
Initially a developmental backup who can add a different dimension to the offense in specific packages, with the ceiling to become a mid-tier starter if his accuracy and decision-making improve.
A traditional West Coast timing offense that demands pinpoint accuracy and quick reads from the pocket, minimizing his athletic advantages.
A high-upside project who thrives in an offense that maximizes his unique blend of athleticism and improvisational skills but has a low floor if forced into a pure pocket passer role.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson 2022 UCLA Season Highlights
Dorian Thompson-Robinson Senior Season Highlights - UCLA QB
Dorian Thompson-Robinson Highlights UCLA vs USC | 414 Yards, 4 TDs
Nobody in the class had a longer résumé. Thompson-Robinson started 50 games across five seasons at UCLA, finishing with 10,556 passing yards, 87 touchdowns and 36 interceptions, plus 1,838 yards and 28 scores on the ground. His senior year was his best by a wide margin: 3,153 yards, 27 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and 647 rushing yards, an efficiency jump that came from a cleaner base and better decisions on early downs.
The athletic profile is real. He is a legitimate NFL runner at the position, quick enough to beat a linebacker to the edge and tough enough to finish runs inside, and the play-action game off that threat is where his passing looks most professional.
The concern is everything that happens when the structure disappears. His accuracy drifts when he throws off platform, his ball placement on outbreaking routes lets defenders close, and his eyes come down under interior pressure. Five years of starts did not fully smooth those edges, which raises a hard question about how much developmental runway is left. The projection is a QB3 with starter athleticism — worth a Day 3 pick because the running ability creates a floor as a change-up, but with a passing baseline that has to improve substantially before he can be trusted with a full game plan.
- 01
Rushing threat
1,838 career yards and 28 touchdowns on the ground, forcing defenses to assign a defender to the quarterback on every read.
- 02
Experience
Fifty career starts across five seasons, the deepest catalogue of live snaps and coverage exposure in the quarterback class.
- 03
Play-action passing
Throws with rhythm and confidence off boot and half-field play action, where the run threat is doing work for him.
- 04
Senior-year growth
Cut his interception rate and posted 27 touchdowns with 3,153 yards, the cleanest passing season of his college career.
- 05
Toughness
Finishes runs inside, plays through contact in the pocket, and started through injuries in a program that leaned on him heavily.
- 01
Off-platform accuracy
Ball placement deteriorates when his base widens, producing sailed throws that turn into interceptions in the NFL.
- 02
Interior pressure response
Eyes drop and progressions stall when the pocket collapses inside, converting manageable downs into scrambles.
- 03
Outbreaking throws
Lacks the velocity and anticipation on out routes to keep NFL corners from driving on the ball.
- 04
Development runway
Five years of starts without a fully clean passing profile raises doubt about how much correction is still available.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.56sp50
- Vertical
- 32.5inp50
- Broad jump
- 121inp50
- Three-cone
- 7.28sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.44sp50
- Bench
- —rep
| Yr | Team | G | Cmp | Att | Yds | TD | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | UCLA | 10 | 95 | 159 | 1173 | 6 | 4 |
| 2019 | UCLA | 11 | 216 | 362 | 2701 | 21 | 12 |
| 2020 | UCLA | 5 | 90 | 138 | 1120 | 12 | 4 |
| 2021 | UCLA | 11 | 176 | 283 | 2409 | 21 | 6 |
| 2022 | UCLA | 13 | 265 | 381 | 3153 | 27 | 10 |
| Career | — | 50 | 842 | 1323 | 10556 | 87 | 36 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
An athletic QB2 who bounces between rosters and provides emergency starts without a stable passing baseline.
The ceiling is a mobile veteran backup who can start a month of games and keep an offense on schedule with his legs.
A quarterback whose turnover rate under live pressure limits him to camp and practice-squad work.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Cleveland took him in the fifth round and injuries forced him onto the field faster than anybody wanted. He appeared in eight games as a rookie in 2023, completing 60 of 112 passes for 440 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions, and returned for seven more games in 2024 with a nearly identical line: 61 of 118 for 440 yards, no touchdowns and six interceptions. Across 15 career games he sits at 52.6 percent, 880 yards, one touchdown and 10 interceptions, with 187 yards on the ground. He has since moved on to Philadelphia as a depth quarterback.
The pre-draft concerns did not soften; they got louder under NFL lighting. Everything that made the college tape fun — the improvisation, the willingness to create — became the exact mechanism of the turnovers, and the passing floor never rose enough to make the running ability useful. The fifth round was the correct price for the profile, and the outcome landed at the low end of a range everyone had drawn correctly. He has stuck around as a roster quarterback, which is the modest return this pick was always likely to produce.