Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel has said “edge” is his favorite position on the field.

And the Dolphins — in a precarious spot at that position because of injuries to two starters — drafted one on Thursday when they selected Penn State’s Chop Robinson with the 21st overall pick.

Robinson’s stats are fairly modest: 60 tackles, 11.5 sacks and three forced fumbles in 35 games, covering three seasons.

He had four sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss in 10 games for Penn State last season, along with two forced fumbles.

He had 10 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks for Penn State in 2022.

He spent his first season as a linebacker at Maryland before switching to defensive end as a Nittany Lions transfer.

Robinson, who’s 6-3 and 254 pounds, was projected to go later than 21 in most mock drafts. But the Dolphins had a conviction about him.

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein described Robinson as an “edge defender who offers the type of elite athleticism we’ve seen from players like Micah Parsons and Myles Garrett. Robinson might not be as fast as Parsons, but he’s close. He’s ultra-twitchy with the explosiveness to get on top of blockers and overwhelm them in an instant.

“However, he will need to level up his hand skills and attack angles to reach his potential against NFL tackles. Robinson’s electric athletic traits alone should give him a floor as a good NFL starter. If he crafts a rush approach and learns to string moves/counters together, he could reach his ceiling as a destructive force capable of forcing teams to game plan around him.”

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. said he needs to expand his pass rush arsenal.

Robinson ran a 4.48 in the 40-yard dash and had an excellent broad jump of 10-8. There’s no question about his athleticism.

Former UM coach and new Duke coach Manny Diaz, who coached Robinson as Penn State’s defensive coordinator last season, said on the social media platform X that Robinson is a “great pick. Pairing Chop with Jaelan Phillips together is how you terrorize QBs. Great player and better man.”

Robinson could get playing time immediately, with Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips covering from major injuries. Shaq Barrett is the only healthy experienced edge player on the roster.

Among others, the Dolphins bypassed Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton, Missouri defensive lineman Darius Robinson, Texas receiver Xavier Worthy, LSU receiver Brian Thomas and Oklahoma offensive tackle Tyler Guyton.

Robinson’s given name is Demeioun. He was nickname “Pork Chop” came from his size at birth (14 pounds). It was shortened to “Chop” as he got older.

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