Falcons say Bijan Robinson is NFL’s best player. He looked like it Monday.
The Falcons drafted Bijan Robinson eighth overall in the 2023 NFL draft because they felt he had Hall of Fame talent.
It’s generally taboo to select a running back with such a premium pick — and many noted Georgia standout defender Jalen Carter, who has been troubled but is a mega talent, was available — but the team insisted this simply was following the best-player-available formula many front offices harp about.
Robinson has been a top-tier back, but Monday felt like a true emergence. He was the best player in a game that featured the reigning NFL MVP, accumulating 238 total yards in the Falcons’ 24-14 upset of Buffalo. The longer, game-breaking plays that Robinson once lacked now are on display every week.
“He’s the best player in football,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said Monday, reiterating a point he’s repeated. The Falcons publicly state they feel they have the sport’s best individual talent in Robinson. Watching the game Monday against Buffalo, and it’s tough to argue against it.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian, who’s glowed about Robinson since coaching him in college, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shortly after Robinson’s selection that he compares favorably with two of football’s great dynamic runners.
“The two guys who stand out to me that resemble him — I think the short-area quickness and ability to make people miss in tight quarters, you hate comparing a guy to Barry Sanders, but it’s similar,” Sarkisian said. “And just from a playmaker standpoint, Reggie Bush has always been his idol. I don’t know that he has that outright speed of Reggie, but the receiving skills out of the backfield are very similar.”
It’s fair to wonder, then, why Robinson hadn’t produced more explosive plays in his early career. It was a nitpick, but a reasonable one for a player with such lofty standards.
Robinson had one run that exceeded 30 yards last season. He had only one play over 40 yards in his first two years. He already has three such plays this season, two as receptions and the first rush being Monday’s spectacular 81-yard dash.
The run was the longest play of his career. It was even more impressive with context, how he broke a tackle attempt and kept his footing down the sideline.
Robinson had 170 rushing yards — and it felt like it. Buffalo’s defense was hemorrhaging yards throughout the night, and Robinson was the main reason. It remains curious why the Falcons took him off the field with chances to further their lead, but those questions become secondary after a win.
One could argue this was Robinson’s finest performance. When asked, he couldn’t answer.
“Just another great game,” he said. “Because it’s the next one. I wish I could tell you I rank games and stuff, but this is just a game for me to help my team win. That’s just how it is for me.”
The circumstances around Monday illuminated his showing, but more than anything it highlighted his game-breaking-play ability. Robinson said in June he needed to produce more explosive plays. His own admission: “We are all waiting for that Saquon (Barkley) type of season when it comes to explosives.”
He addressed the topic after Monday’s game but didn’t take a victory lap: “I know that was a big goal, but it’s just a thing in my game that I’ll continue to get better at. For me, if I can get better at that, it’s only helping the team.”
Barkley is the toughest bar to clear — he’s absolutely superb and doing it for the Super Bowl champs — but the season for which Robinson has desired seems to be upon us. If the Falcons are going to end this dreadful playoff drought, it will be on Robinson’s back.
He is the engine to this offense. He’s the individual keeping defensive coordinators awake during game weeks.
He might not end up a Hall of Famer, but his talent puts him in the small, small category of players who have a chance to be one.
About the Author
Gabriel Burns is a general assignment reporter and features writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. After four years on the Braves beat, he's expanded his horizons and covers all sports. You'll find him writing about MLB, NFL, NBA, college football and other Atlanta-centric happenings.
