Last year, I analyzed Bijan Robinson film from his time at Texas and predicted that he would be drafted by the Tennessee Titans at the eleventh overall spot. I can say that I was absolutely stunned and excited when my favorite team, the Atlanta Falcons, snatched him at the eighth spot. Bijan strengthened an already crazy strong Atlanta run game and has the possibility to elevate that offense to a whole new level. Putting personal bias aside, it’s time to look at Bijan’s year and give him an overall grade.
Statistically Bijan Robinson had a good year, on 214 attempts Bijan averaged 4.6 yards per carry for 976 yards. He also added 58 receptions for 487 receiving yards. Even with good stats, it is blatantly obvious that Bijan was underused in this Atlanta offense. He only had the nineteenth most carries in the league, which doesn’t sound that bad but with his talent Bijan should be within the top ten if not top five in terms of carries. It felt like every game Bijan would break off for some kind of electric play and then go unused for most of the remainder of the game.
The blame for this problem has been coaching, Arthur Smith who was fired on January the seventh, had some strange play calls. It seemed common that Smith would prefer to use every player on the field and neglect his more talented players. While running back mate Tyler Allgeier is also talented, he should never have the priority of carries over Bijan. Allgeier in 2023 had 186 attempts with an average of 3.7 yards per carry for 683 yards and 4 touchdowns. It’s not a problem that Allgeier is involved in the Atlanta backfield, but he should not be having a similar workload to Bijan. Bijan has top running back talent, which is blatantly obvious, but he is being underused. Maybe with the change in coaching coming, there will be more opportunities for Bijan to show off his skill.
Bijan has a promising career in front of him, if he is used properly. It’s time to start looking forward to the 2024 season for Bijan, with the Atlanta offense prepped to go over huge changes, including a new coach and more likely than not a new quarterback, only time can tell what kind of situation that this young star will be in for the 2024 season. One thing is for certain, if given the chance, Bijan will ball out.
