A rookie running back entering the NFL has not had this type of press since Saquon Barkley was drafted back in 2018. But Bijan Robinson is no typical rookie running back, and the Atlanta Falcons certainly see him as a core piece of their franchise for many years to come – but how can he help your fantasy football roster?

Drafted with the eighth overall selection in this year’s NFL Draft, Robinson heads to an offense that still lacks a ton of direction. With Desmond Ridder taking over as the team’s starting quarterback and both Drake London and Kyle Pitts trying to rectify their 2022 struggles, Robinson will have quite a large role this year.

While there is a ton of press surrounding Robinson, there are still a ton of question marks surrounding the Texas Longhorn product. Will he be able to endure the physicality of the NFL with a bunch of tread on his tires?

2022 Season in Review

While there is no professional season to reference here for his season in review, we can take a look back at his collegiate career as a whole. Having spent three seasons with the Longhorns, it was clear from early on that Robinson was something extremely special.

Over 3,400 rushing yards and 800 receiving yards, plus 41 total TDs paints an incredible picture for what the Falcons are getting. But these stats also come with a caveat – 599 total touches in college make for a ton of work already on Robinson’s legs, a long-term question that hopefully has a happy ending.

Texas may have struggled overall as a team when Robinson was a student athlete, but it certainly was not because of him.

Even in his freshman season, Robinson held a huge role, racking up 101 total touches for 899 total yards and 6 scores. He compounded on those numbers in his sophomore campaign, earning 221 total touches for over 1,400 yards and 15 TDs (11 rushing).

In his final season of college football, Robinson put a cherry on top of his collegiate career. 1,894 total yards on 277 touches (20 total TDs) led him to be the 2022 recipient of the Doak Walker Award and a consensus All-American.

There were not many things that Robinson could not do while in college, and the Longhorns certainly reaped those benefits every Saturday.

Robinson’s injury history isn’t 100 percent crystal clean, but he really only has one injury of note. Having missed a few games due to a dislocated elbow is the biggest thing on his injury report, a great sign for Atlanta.

2023 Season Preview

It is not going to be a surprise when Robinson earns a ton of touches in his rookie season. But what might be surprising is how much work Tyler Allgeier earns too.

As the lead back for the Falcons down the stretch last season, Allgeier ran for 1,035 yards on 210 carries. Even with those rookie-year numbers, it was pretty clear – even before Robinson was drafted – that Atlanta was not fully sold on Allgeier.

So with Robinson now in the fold, Allgeier will fall back into a handcuff role – unless the offseason comments about Robinson being an ‘offensive weapon’ actually do come true.

Head coach Arthur Smith made sure to be very clear when describing the team’s thoughts on Robinson, and his comments on Robinson’s role are very interesting. Calling him a weapon certainly means he will be featured in the passing game, which would lean towards Allgeier being on the field at the same time.

This is not to say that Robinson will not be the clear lead back for Atlanta, there is no doubt about that. However, considering the fact that Allgeier was successful but only as a runner and that Robinson had pretty good exposure to the passing game with the Longhorns shows that there is a path to seeing both options on the field.

Here is the biggest takeaway from mentioning Allgeier – Robinson is 100% still worth that fringe first-round selection you will need to use on him for your fantasy football team. With the Falcons ushering into the Ridder era at QB, having a steady presence at running back will be a big part of helping their new starting quarterback get settled.

Atlanta’s offense as a whole is a big ol’ mess with talent sprinkled at a few of the core positions. Working in Robinson’s favor and a forgotten aspect of the offense is how good their offensive line is, a key reason why he could produce a 1,000 rushing yards / 800 receiving yards season.

With the NFC South division up for grabs, Robinson is going to be the key to Atlanta potentially making some noise this season. And who knows, maybe he locks up the Rookie of the Year Award by Week 10 and takes your fantasy football team to the playoffs in the process.