'Why Bijan Robinson?'
Height & Weight
5'11 -- 215lbs
Ascension grade
Gold Jacket ceiling
77.48 -- #1 RB
High-end traits (80th percentile & up)
Early acceleration
Skill set as a receiver
Movement toolbox
Movement economy & solutions
Direct contact solutions
Short yardage navigation
Low Redzone decision making
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Low-end traits (30th percentile & down)
In-direct contact solutions
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Stylistic comparison
LaDanian Tomlinson meshed with Arian Foster
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Projected role comparison
Every down player (Todd Gurley)
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Schematic fit
Hybrid
Makes complex movement solutions look routine. Bends path, skips, spins and re-directs with fluidity.
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Wide array of movement tools - his creativity alone is a trait that is off the charts as a mover.
The bend & slide to get around #91, the jump cut moving upfield then the stiff-arm to negate the contact of #35.
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Lots of layers to Robinson's game.
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Creative, fluid and quick for 220lbs. In the Red-zone he continually picks his way upfield and earns hidden yardage.
The depth of tools is more important than how quickly you can get from point A to B in a straight line.
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Robinson is a back that either has a solution or creates one to maximize the success of the play.
Watch how low he gets to the ground here when he decelerates moving towards #13.
At 220lbs being able to not only create steep, negative angles, but to accelerate out of them is one of the many reasons why Robinson has traits that point to him being one of this generation's best runners.
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Like a sport bike taking a sharp turn... but with the body of a tank.
Again, watch the steep angles achieved as he gets past #28.
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Able to move in multiple planes through contact and bend path to get into open space.
An area where Robinson continually wins is the low Red-zone.
His blend of power, depth of tools and patience makes him a safe bet annually for 10 + touchdowns.
Robinson has and can win in the slot with nuance & pace. He's not just a checkdown back as a pass-catcher.
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Linear skip release with the boundary side head fake - causes a false step from #27 to spring him to space.
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How many backs are doing this in the NFL? You can count them on one hand.
A unique skill set & capabilities to be a threat from different positional alignments.
Can track flight paths and make the requisite adjustments to pull down difficult receptions, even through contact.
The same awareness for space and body control you see from him as runner, shows up as well as a receiver.
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Can contort and make these plays with regularity.
Combine these downfield skills with how easily he can chew up ground after the catch and you get a weapon as a receiver.
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Full RB route tree in play. Wheel routes, angle, choice, arrow you name it.
Through contact, Robinson is best described as diverse & powerful.
Does a sound job of navigating engagement pathways and finds proper solutions with regularity.
Continually pushing piles and getting through high, in-direct contact.
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Led the NCAA with 104 broken tackles this past season.
Notice how deep the pad bend is.
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Has this 'uppercut' in his repertoire through contact that is extremely tough to match for taller defenders.
Robinson's an upper percentile accelerator who consistently gets the edge on backers.
He reads & reacts well during both zone & gap blocking - when he puts his foot in the ground he gets to top-end quickly.
Average top-end speed, more of a glider than a separator at the 2nd level.
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Skilled in multiple facets of acceleration & re-acceleration - which are the more important traits for a back.
Expectations & Range of outcomes
Talent & skill set to be a top 3 running back in the league before long. There isn't a whole in his game besides youth - likely to be a perennial RB1 in fantasy no matter the landing spot.
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Gold-jacket caliber back.
Concerns & areas of development
Biggest concern with a back of Robinson's caliber is he goes to an offense that doesn't score enough to give him the opportunity to score with frequency.
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One of the areas of weakness for Robinson is how he deals with low, in-direct contact. Often times, we see his clock speed up to try and deal with the next layer of engagements - as he matures, and gains experience this should improve.