After months of speculation and questions about who the Atlanta Falcons would select with the eighth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, many Falcons fans were shocked when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell walked up to the podium and announced that the Dirty Birds had selected Texas running back Bijan Robinson.
Eric Slaughter was joined by Joe Cook, Managing Editor of Inside Texas, and he asked Cook what kind of comparisons could be made to some of the great NFL running backs who have shared a similar skill set to the young ball-carrier from Tucson, Arizona. Joe was hesitant to make comparisons and recalled a quote from Robinson's former RB coach and current head coach of the Temple Owls, Stan Drayton: "Bijan is Bijan, there is no one like him."
"In a different era, Bijan may be a 1.1 player," Cook said regarding how good Robinson is and where he could have been valued in terms of draft status. "He might be a 1.2 player, it just happens that with the way the league works and with how running backs are viewed and first-round contracts he fell to 8. I don't know if there's a comparison for him."
While running back wasn’t a particular area of need for the franchise, the whispers that Robinson was going to be on the radar for coach Arthur Smith had grown louder and louder over the past few weeks. Coming from a Tennessee Titans offense that utilized Derrick Henry to the fullest and leaned heavily on the run during his tenure as head coach, it makes sense that the team would look to continue to construct this offense in the mold of Smith’s former team.
Despite being one of the top rushing offenses in the league last season with Cordarrelle Patterson, and having Tyler Allgeier set the Falcons rookie record for rushing yards, it would appear that Smith still has a bigger vision for this offense and would like to create some security for QB Desmond Ridder as the second-year player comes into this season as the projected starter under center.
Looking at this offense on paper – with Drake London, Kyle Pitts, and the three-headed monster in the backfield – and the landscape of the division seeming like a desolate wasteland, it’s hard to argue that the NFC South is not ripe for the picking for the Falcons this season.