1. The no-spin zone: Falcons running back Bijan Robinson, who amassed 1,463 yards from scrimmage this season, was named to the 2023 NFL all-rookie team by the Pro Football Writers of America on Tuesday.
Robinson, who was the eighth player taken in the draft, rushed 214 times for 976 yards and four touchdowns. He also caught 58 passes for 487 yards and four touchdowns. He made the all-rookie team with Detroit running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who was taken 12th overall.
“(Bijan) has done a really good job doing the things that we’ve asked him to do,” Falcons running backs coach Michael Pitre said. “He’s done a great job of proving that he could be a three-down back in this league. He’s done a great job of showing what he can do in the pass game.”
Gibbs, of Dalton, played at Georgia Tech and Alabama.
2. Bergeron misses the cut: Left guard Matthew Bergeron, who was drafted in the second round (38th overall) out of Syracuse, started all 17 games for the Falcons, but did not make the team.
Steve Avila of the Rams and O’Cyrus Torrence of the Bills were the all-rookie team’s guards.
Bergeron played 1,129 offensive snaps (100%) and 66 special-teams snaps (14%). He received a 59.5 grade, which is considered average, from Pro Football Focus. He was hurt by his six sacks allowed.
Avila had a 61.1 grade, with two sacks allowed. Torrence had an 88 grade, with no sacks allowed.
Houston’s Will Anderson Jr., who played at Dutchtown High School, was the defensive rookie of the year. Anderson and Philadelphia’s Jalen Carter, who played at Georgia, made the all-rookie team on the defensive line.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter/AJC
3. Here’s the all-rookie awards and team:
2023 ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: QB C.J. Stroud, Texans
2023 OFFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: QB C.J. Stroud, Texans
2023 DEFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: DE Will Anderson Jr., Texans
2023 PFWA ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Offense
QB – C.J. Stroud, Texans
RB – Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions; Bijan Robinson, Falcons
WR – Jordan Addison, Vikings; Puka Nacua, Rams
TE – Sam LaPorta, Lions
C – Joe Tippmann, Jets
G – Steve Avila, Rams; O’Cyrus Torrence, Bills
T – Dawand Jones, Browns; Darnell Wright, Bears
Defense
DL – Will Anderson Jr., Texans; Jalen Carter, Eagles; Tuli Tuipulotu, Chargers; Kobie Turner, Rams
LB – Jack Campbell, Lions; Ivan Pace Jr., Vikings; Byron Young, Rams
CB – Joey Porter Jr., Steelers; Devon Witherspoon, Seahawks
S – Jordan Battle, Bengals; Ji’Ayir Brown, 49ers
Special Teams
PK – Jake Moody, 49ers
P – Bryce Baringer, Patriots
KR – Marvin Mims Jr., Broncos
PR – Derius Davis, Chargers
ST – Jerrick Reed II, Seahawks
4. Robinson’s workload: Because of speed, size and shiftiness, Robinson, who’s 5-foot-11 and 215 pounds, was compared with some of the NFL’s greatest hybrid running backs. Before the season, we took a quick look at the rookie season workloads of Barry Sanders (1989, third overall, 5-8, 203), Marshall Faulk (1994, second overall, 5-11, 211), LaDainian Tomlinson (2001, fifth overall, 5-10, 215) and Saquon Barkley (2018, second overall, 6-0, 232):
All of those dynamic running backs had more than 300 touches (rushes/receptions) as rookies. Sanders, Faulk and Tomlinson have been enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and Barkley is an active player.
Sanders rushed 280 times for 1,470 yards and 14 touchdowns as a rookie for the Lions. He caught 24 passes for 282 yards. That’s 304 touches for 1,752 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Faulk, who was drafted by the Colts, rushed 314 times for 1,282 yards and 11 touchdowns. He had 52 catches for 522 yards and a touchdown. That’s 366 touches for 1,804 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Tomlinson, who was drafted by the Chargers, had 339 rushes for 1,236 yards and 10 touchdowns. He had 59 catches for 367 yards. He had 398 touches for 1,603 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Barkley, who was drafted by the Giants, had 261 rushes for 1,307 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also caught 91 passes for 721 yards and four touchdowns. He had 352 touches for 2,028 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Robinson had 272 touches for 1,463 yards and eight touchdowns.
Gibbs had 234 touches for 1,261 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Lions.
5. Record book: Robinson (1,463) surpassed William Andrews (1,332) for the most yards from scrimmage by a rookie in Falcons history.
Robinson has six games with 100 yards from scrimmage, surpassing wide receiver Julio Jones, who had five in 2011 and running back Tyler Allgeier (five in 2022).
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter/AJC
6. Nielsen to Jaguars: Former Falcons defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen, who spent one season with the team, was hired Monday as the defensive coordinator of the Jaguars.
“We’re excited to welcome Ryan and have him lead our defense moving forward,” Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said in a statement. “Ryan is an outstanding football coach and his defenses with the Falcons and Saints were always fundamentally sound in both their physicality and concepts.”
7. Bates, Lindstrom honored: Falcons safety Jessie Bates III was named to the PFWA’s all-NFL team and guard Chris Lindstrom was named to the all-NFC team Monday.
8. Senior Bowl: Titans assistant head coach Terrell Williams will coach the American team and Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will coach the National team in the 75th Senior Bowl, which will be played 1 p.m. Feb. 3 at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama.
All three days of practice will be televised on both NFL Network and ESPN, and the game will be televised live on NFL Network.
The Titans have the seventh overall pick, and the Jets own the 10th selection in the 2024 NFL draft. The Falcons have the eighth overall pick.
The Falcons will be in the quarterback market this offseason. Six quarterbacks, including Washington Michael Penix Jr. and Oregon’s Bo Nix, have accepted invitations to the Senior Bowl.
The other four quarterbacks are Tennessee’s Joe Milton III, South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler, Tulane’s Michael Pratt and South Alabama’s Carter Bradley.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
9. Coaching search timeline: Here is the current timeline of interviews — virtual and in-person — conducted by the Falcons in their search for a new head coach:
Jan. 8 – Arthur Smith is fired after three straight 7-10 seasons, one day following a season-ending loss to the Saints.
Jan. 12 – Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald completes virtual interview.
Jan. 13 - Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan and 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks complete virtual interviews.
Jan. 14 - Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and Ravens assistant head coach/defensive line coach Anthony Weaver complete virtual interviews.
Jan. 15 - Former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick completes in-person interview.
Jan. 16 - University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh completes in-person interview.
Jan. 18 - Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson completes virtual interview.
Jan. 19 - Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn completes virtual interview and Belichick completes second in-person interview.
Jan. 20 - Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris and Bills interim offensive coordinator Joe Brady complete virtual interviews.
Jan. 21 - Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik and Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson complete virtual interviews.
Jan. 22 - Callahan, who had a second interview with the Falcons scheduled for Jan. 25, accepts head coach position with Titans.
Jan. 23 -- Morris had in-person interview. His first interview was in-person.
