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The 2023 NFL Draft is a couple of weeks away, so now is the time to do a diligent deep-dive into the elite prospects that are going to shake the fantasy football landscape for years to come. Regardless of format and scoring settings, the elite players transcend all, and fill up the stat sheets for their fortunate fantasy managers, week in and week out. However, not every elite prospect is a generational talent. The term "generational" gets tossed around too much nowadays, and I fear that it has lost its significance in prospect evaluation. Its use should be reserved for the true unicorns at their respective positions, and not be oversaturated for all players that are really good. "Really good" does not compare to "generational."
When it comes to running backs, the term has been used at least ten times over the last two decades, but the simple fact is that there have been only two truly elite and generational talents at the running back position since the year 2000, Adrian Peterson and Saquon Barkley. The perfect combination of size, speed, power, elusiveness, and vision, combined with godlike athleticism, that which dwarfs those of their competitors. Players like Todd Gurley, Ezekiel Elliott, Christian McCaffery, and Leonard Fournette were referred to by many as being generational talents, but they all lacked something to their game to carry them into the realm of the unicorns. Jonathan Taylor is the closest we have seen a running back prospect come to the level of Peterson and Barkely, that is, until now.
Allow me to introduce you to the third truly generational running back over the last two decades, Texas running back Bijan Robinson.
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📺: 2023 #NFLDraft -- Starts Thursday, April 27 on NFLN/ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on NFL+ pic.twitter.com/Cz1tuOnFzt— NFL (@NFL) April 13, 2023
Longhorns Legend
Stats provided by sports-reference.com
Watching Bijan Robinson run the football is like watching Claude Monet paint a masterpiece. He joined the University of Texas as a five-star recruit and the number-one running back in his recruiting class after posting three consecutive 2,000-yard seasons. Robinson burst onto the scene at UT when he was given his first opportunity as a freshman, turning nine games into 703 yards on only 86 attempts. His 8.2 yards per carry ranked first in the nation out of all running backs that saw at least 65 attempts and set a school record. He set another school record for yards per carry in a game with 19.1 versus Kansas State.
He followed up his freshman campaign with 1,127 yards on 195 carries and 11 rushing touchdowns in the 10 games he played. His 1,422 yards from scrimmage ranked 22nd in the country, however, all but one of the running backs ahead of him played at least 12 games. He also saw a significant uptick in receiving work with 295 yards on 26 receptions. After his sophomore season, the Texas tailback was honored with All-Big 12 first team, and was a semi-finalist for the Maxwell Award (ESPN's best player in college football), the Doak Walker Award (best running back in college football), and the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award (best Division I player with ties to Texas).
In his final season at Texas, Robinson went off the rails and dropped 1,580 rush yards and 18 touchdowns with an added 314 yards and two touchdowns in the receiving game. His yards per carry jumped from 5.8 to 6.1 on more volume, and yards per reception jumped from 11.3 to an astounding 16.5 on fewer touches. He led the nation in scrimmage yards with 1,894, was second in total touchdowns behind Israel Abanikanda, and led the Big 12 with 131.7 rushing yards and 157.83 all-purpose yards per game.
Out of the 12 games that he played, he rushed for 100 yards or more in nine games, 200 yards or more in two games, scored a touchdown in 10 games, and scored multiple touchdowns in 5 games. He finished his stellar junior year as a unanimous All-American and the winner of the Doak Walker Award for the nation's best running back. His odds to be the first running back drafted are -10000.
Scouting Report:
Height: 5'11"
Weight 215 lbs.
40-yard dash - 4.46s
Vertical jump - 37"
Broad jump - 10'4"
In short, Robinson has no flaws to his game. Zero. The biggest knock on him is that he does not have home-run speed, but who cares? He is elite in every facet of the game and he is fast enough to make every touch a house call. He is supremely gifted at selling fake gaps, leading defenders into holes, and then vanishing to hit another hole in the line before the defender even knows what happened. He possesses elite contact balance, effortlessly shedding tackles and minimizing the impact of oncoming defenders. He routinely makes defenders miss in tight spaces and has an unbelievable ability to turn would-be negative plays into five-yard gains.
Bijan Robinson has some absolutely insane carries. I am blown away. pic.twitter.com/MMoPZeqZuS
— Brenden Deeg (@BrendenDeeg_) April 7, 2023
Robinson has an incredible stop/start ability, able to stop on a dime from top speed and then hit the gas and re-accelerate without any wasted movements. His change of direction and elusiveness may be the best we have ever seen since Barry Sanders. His instincts and vision are unparalleled as he seamlessly stacks together cuts that leave defenders grasping at air. He processes running lanes and manipulates defenders to create space at a truly elite level.
Robinson cuts and changes direction in an instant, even at top speed, and he does it without losing any momentum. He has the speed to beat defenders to the outside, and the body control and balance to turn the corner and get upfield without the need to decelerate. He is an explosive back who runs with patience and determination, and he possesses elite burst which helps him to clear closing gaps and reach top speed in an instant after shedding and evading tackles.
Good gracious, Bijan Robinson...#WVUvsTEX #HookEm #HailWV #Big12
pic.twitter.com/BxGx0PtHIQ— Sportsbook Review (@SBRReview) November 7, 2020
I could go on and on about Robinson as a runner, but he truly shines and separates himself from his peers with his skills as a receiver. He will be a lethal mismatch in the NFL as linebackers try and cover him on a wheel route. Robinson can run any route that a wide receiver can run and can create separation with the best of them. He has incredibly soft hands and can contort his body mid-air to make jaw-dropping leaping catches you only see from elite wide receivers. He has superb ball-tracking skills and his prowess in pass protection will make it impossible to take him off the field. He is a true four-down running back and should be the focal point of whichever offense is lucky enough to draft him.
Bijan Robinson. pic.twitter.com/MGYRlKq99A
— Nick Penticoff (@NickPenticoff) April 13, 2023
Pro Comparison
Bijan Robinson does not compare to any player that I can remember watching. He is the best running back prospect we have seen since Saquon Barkley, and I think he is better. He is just as skilled in the passing game and is arguably a better route runner. He is also a more physical runner, willing to take on contact that Barkley typically shies away from. If I had to pick a comparison, his elusiveness and processing at the line of scrimmage reminds me of Marshall Faulk. He has no business reacting and avoiding incoming defenders the way he does. Like Faulk, he navigates congested areas with perfection and has an uncanny ability to jump-cut his way through and around defenders. He is incredible at creating yards well beyond what is blocked, and he will be a devastating factor in the passing game.
In the right offense, Robinson will break the NFL slate. I expect him to be drafted in the first half of the first round of the NFL draft, and my ideal landing spot for him is the Philadelphia Eagles, though as a New York Giants fan, I would absolutely hate that.
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