Eden Prairie, Minn. ? Koren Robinson came to the Minnesota Vikings a broken man.

The No. 9 pick in the 2001 NFL draft was cut by the Seattle Seahawks after four years in which trouble off the field overshadowed one very good season on it.

Fresh out of an alcohol-treatment facility, Robinson’s voice trembled as he spoke of getting a second chance with the Vikings.

“I prepared myself for the worst, not even taking a snap,” Robinson said Wednesday, three months to the day after he signed with the team. “But just being on a team, that would have been fine with me. That’s what I was prepared for coming in.”

It’s been much more.

Minnesota receiver Koren Robinson outruns Detroit cornerback R.W. McQuarters for an 80-yard touchdown Sunday at Ford Field in Detroit.

The former North Carolina State standout is making the most of his second chance. Robinson steadily has become the Vikings’ most dangerous receiver, beginning to fulfill the promise he once showed in Seattle.

Last week, he had four catches for 148 yards in a 21-16 victory at Detroit, including an 80-yard touchdown from Brad Johnson on the Vikings’ first play.

He leads the team with 18.1 yards per catch and also has been returning kicks, including an 86-yard TD in a stunning victory over the Giants in Week 10.

That’s when things started to click.

“He has certainly had an impact, and that’s sometimes what special teams can do for you,” offensive coordinator Steve Loney said. “He got confident and was feeling good about things, and that’s when the offensive production started to come.”

Robinson also had a 45-yard reception against the Lions, giving the Vikings a vertical element to their offense sorely lacking since they traded Randy Moss to the Oakland Raiders in the offseason.

“They’ve given me a role and opportunities to make plays,” Robinson said. “But I feel like my confidence picked up, and it got started on special teams.”

Robinson’s plight is eerily similar to the Vikings’ 2005 season. Things started off rough with a 2-5 record on the field and the now-infamous boat-party scandal off it.

But as Robinson’s production has increased, the Vikings have got back on track. They have won five in a row and are back in the playoff picture.

A big smile crept across his face as he talked about the 80-yard TD against the Lions, a play Johnson called “Louisiana,” as in “blew by you.” He’s smiling a lot more these days while he answers questions about his performance on the field, and not his troubles with alcohol off it.

After he was released by the Seahawks, Robinson spent 28 days in a rehab facility in South Carolina, wondering if his career was over before it really started.

He caught 78 passes for 1,240 yards and five touchdowns in 2002, before getting caught up in the fast-paced NFL lifestyle that led to him pleading guilty in July to drunken driving.

Robinson speaks with a humility and maturity that seems genuine, a far cry from the problem child in Seattle. But he is quick to point out those days will always be with him.

“I can’t never let that slip out of my mind, as far as everything that I’ve been through,” he said. “I think about it every day. I’m mindful of where I’ve been, what I went through, where I’m at now, how I got here.

“Everybody should be mindful of what they’ve been through. It lets you know how you are thankful for things or are lucky to have certain things.”

On the field, however, Robinson is anything but humble.

“I think he believes he’s the best player on the field bar none,” coach Mike Tice said. “And that’s pretty good, when you have a player who thinks he’s the best player on the field.”

And the 6-foot-1, 205-pounder has the physical skills to back it up.

“I always felt that way. That’s how I approach everything,” Robinson said.

Most importantly to Robinson, he’s earned the respect of his teammates, who voted him the winner of a team honor for courage and overcoming adversity.

“Coming to Minnesota, it’s opened his eyes that this thing is for real,” safety Darren Sharper said. “He has to go out each week and play at that level. Then when he goes home, he has to take care of himself. You see the rewards that it’s reaping for him right now.”