Former Steelers linebacker Vince Williams: 'Mark Robinson is better than I was as a rookie'

It appears that ex-Steeler Vince Williams is a big fan of a new Steeler at his former position. It’s rookie inside linebacker Mark Robinson.

“Mark Robinson is better than I was as a rookie,” Williams said Tuesday on social media. “I hope he keeps #93.”

Mark Robinson is better than I was as a rookie. I hope he keeps #93

— Vince Williams (@VinnyVidiVici98) August 24, 2022

Robinson has flashed in training camp and in games for Pittsburgh. The Ole Miss product forced a game-pivoting strip-sack fumble versus the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1 of the preseason.

Big time play ????

???? #SEAvsPIT on @KDKA | NFL+: https://t.co/C6T9f39EAk pic.twitter.com/aIf5hrtury

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) August 14, 2022

The converted running back also de-cleated Jaguars receiver Tim Jones during the fourth quarter of the Steelers’ 16-15 win in Jacksonville on Saturday.

Mark Robinson can lay the BOOM ????????????

via @sdextrasmedia pic.twitter.com/IRP8od2X05

— NFL on CBS ???? (@NFLonCBS) August 22, 2022

Robinson’s five tackles that night had NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger buzzing.

.@Steelers have a famous saying, “the standard is the standard” and Mark Robinson is a nuclear explosion waiting to burst on every play…but it’s a controlled violence. I can see Mike T. Jumping out of his film chair when he sees these hits #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/btycVu6IHj

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) August 21, 2022

Yet Steelers coach Mike Tomlin wasn’t buying Williams’ tweet.

“Those of us that know Vince know he didn’t mean that. Vince loves Vince,” Tomlin said with a laugh after practice Wednesday.

To Tomlin’s point, Williams did follow up with a second tweet to prevent his praise of Robinson from getting misinterpreted.

I said as a rookie ???? lol

— Vince Williams (@VinnyVidiVici98) August 24, 2022

But Tomlin at least acknowledged that there are some similarities between Williams and Robinson. Williams was renowned for being a heavy-hitting, impactful, downhill, run-stopping linebacker. He was also a good blitzer from the inside, totaling 12.5 sacks over a two-year stretch between 2017-18. He ended up with 20.5 over his eight seasons in Pittsburgh.

“He’s a contact player. He loves the combat. So they’re very similar in that way,” Tomlin said.

Williams’ former teammate and current Steelers captain Cam Heyward sees a resemblance as well.

“They both can thump,” Heyward said. “When you first heard that he was a running back, you’re like, ‘How the hell did that come about?’ But he definitely comes down, plays with energy. We pointed it out on film. This kid is thriving in this situation. The moment doesn’t look too big for him.”

And there is a moment to embrace for Robinson.

Much like Williams, who arrived in Pittsburgh as a sixth-round pick out of Florida State in 2013, Robinson was a seventh-rounder without much hype. But there are snaps to be won at the inside linebacker position, especially with the struggles of Devin Bush and Robert Spillane atop the depth chart and very little push coming besides Robinson on the next layers of it.

Williams seized a similar opportunity as a rookie in 2013. After Larry Foote tore a bicep in the first game of that year, Williams eventually stood out more than any other candidate to replace Foote, and he ended up starting 10 of the last 11 games.

Robinson said Williams showed up at training camp in Latrobe and delivered a message about making the most of the opportunity for young, off-the-radar players to shine.

“Definitely. Like Vince, we didn’t just sit around waiting for an opportunity,” Robinson said via TribLIVE’s Chris Adamski. “You have to show it every day. I got in, and whatever the situation is — last round of the draft, last picked — that just added fuel to the fire for me.”

Robinson knows that big hits, like the one he delivered in Jacksonville, will get him noticed.

“I am just out there playing ball having that mentality. That’s what we are doing on defense — we (are) hunting. So any time we are out on that field, we are looking for an opportunity to make a play for our team,” Robinson said.

Robinson was unaware of Williams’ promotional tweet about him until Adamski tipped him off about it in the locker room Wednesday. Robinson said the post was consistent with the positive messaging Williams delivered during his visit to Saint Vincent College.

“He’s a good guy who had a good career. He came in and talked to us, shared a few words with us, encouraged us,” Robinson said.

Tomlin may not completely believe Williams’ tweet. But I bet he believes his own eyes. And if Tomlin sees some similarities between Williams and Robinson — and sees the state of his own depth chart at inside linebacker next to Myles Jack — then I’m also willing to bet he could find a spot on the roster for a 2.0 version of Williams.

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