is bijan robinson worth it?

The Atlanta Falcons used their number seven overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft to take the best running back prospect since 2018, Bijan Robinson. He was considered to be able to do it all and has a perfect translation to the NFL. But is he really worth all the hype or should he have stayed out of the top ten in general?

Bijan Robinson is a running back from Tucson, Arizona who went to Texas for college. He was ranked top fifteen in the country coming out of high school and eventually committed to the University of Texas. He started immediately at Texas playing in nine games and breaking the school record for most yards per carry in a game and in a season. He was an honorable mention for the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year and was going to be a full-time starter in his sophomore year. In his sophomore year he rushed for over one thousand yards and eleven touchdowns. He was All Big-12 first team and the first Texas running back to get one thousand yards since 2016. His junior year was even better, running for 1,580 yards and 18 touchdowns. He was a unanimous first team All-American and a winner of the Dock Walker award which is for the best college running back. He would declare for the NFL draft, skipping his senior year, and was projected to go in the first round.

He did get picked in the first round and even higher than people thought. The Falcons would take him seventh overall and was it really worth it? The Falcons had a terrible offense last year with their only real threat, Calvin Ridley, got suspended and traded that season. They also double downed on their 2021 top ten pick, Kyle Pitts who had a sophomore slump in 2022 while also getting an injury. So they were down to the sixth round rookie Tyler Allgier and veteran

Cordarrelle Patterson. So what really confused me is drafting a running back the year after Tyler Allgier rushed for over one thousand yards the year prior. The Falcons are just ignoring the great season he had for raw potential for a position that isn’t as reliable as others. He could be a top ten pick but just was not put in the right situation as a rookie.

The Falcons should’ve taken a wide receiver to take attention from Kyle Pitts and build on Tyler Allgier because he has the talent. Bijan Robinson is worth the hype but could have waited a bit longer for his name to be called.