MOBILE, Ala. -- Denard Robinson will never get another opportunity as good as this one to show NFL scouts he has the chops to play receiver.
Through two days of Senior Bowl practices, the former Michigan star has fumbled his opportunity.
It's not entirely his fault, as nerve damage in his right elbow prevented him from participating in all contact drills Monday and most contact drills Tuesday. Problem is, those are the drills Robinson most needed to show his stuff at the position.
Robinson says he hopes to be cleared for contact drills Wednesday. But to this point, he simply hasn't done enough to show he can play receiver in the NFL.
"No, he hasn't," NFL Network analyst Charles Davis said. "I'm not sure that's all his fault, because he?s been dinged up. I know that in one-on-one drills, they weren?t allowed to press him, they had to back off of him because of the injury he has.
"So, the answer is no (he hasn't done enough to show he can play receiver). He's got a long way to go with that."
Robinson was able to run some routes both days, and a few routes against defensive backs on Tuesday. Although he flashed decent hands, he dropped at least three balls during the second day of workouts.
The biggest problem area, at this point, appears to be his routes. He's rounding off corners, and not getting out of his breaks explosively.
Davis called Robinson's route-running "extremely raw," although noted the former quarterback just started running them and a learning curve is to be expected.
"That's like taking me and saying, 'All right Charles, you've been doing football your whole life. Now, I want you to captain a Viking ship,'" Davis said. "It's brand-new stuff. It's just going to be raw early."
Robinson hasn't looked natural in his routes, which he says is due partly to thinking so much. He has worked his routes back in Ann Arbor with Jeremy Gallon and Roy Roundtree, Michigan's top two receivers from last season.
He was texting with Roundtree on Tuesday, trying to pick up some additional pointers.
"They told me just to use my speed, and come out of the breaks harder," Robinson said. "That's one thing they kept telling me -- come back to the ball -- because when I was running routes at Michigan, they were saying I wasn't coming back to the ball."
Robinson said he felt better Tuesday than he did Monday as he adjusts to the drills of the position, and also picks up cues from Oakland Raiders receivers coach Ted Gilmore.
The Raiders are coaching the North team, which faces the South at 4 p.m. Saturday on NFL Network.
"I'm thinking less now," Robinson said. "I'm thinking less when I'm running routes and coming out of breaks and just doing what the coaches are telling you. That helped me."
Robinson's punt catches have been an adventure as well, which could depress his stock if he can't find consistency. He caught all 11 punts during the morning warmups Tuesday, but most of those came off a machine, which make it easier to judge depth.
Against live punts, he was just two-of-four. He misjudged the depth of both his misses.
He was just 3-of-7 on catchable punts on Monday.
"Got to get used to the rotation of the ball coming off his foot," Robinson said. "It kind of goes the other way. But it's all good."
All told, Robinson looks uncomfortable in his new roles. But he remains a gifted athlete, and he continues to intrigue NFL personnel. He's talked to nearly every NFL team, notably the Detroit Lions, New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles.
"It takes some time with guys," Davis said. "We're expecting him to come out right away and run every route correctly and do this, that and everything. That's just not fair to him."
Robinson returns to the Ladd-Peebles practice field Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Eastern.