RB, Texas
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 222 lbs
Class: Junior
Recruits don’t come much more sought-after than Bijan Robinson. A five-star recruit out of Arizona, he earned 21 offers from the likes of Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, and USC. Whilst many expected him to land in Columbus, Robinson instead committed to Texas, where he became their highest ranked running back recruit since 2012.
Robinson has been a star for the Longhorns ever since. After averaging an absurd 8.2 yards per carry as a true freshman, he took on the starting role in 2021. He swiftly racked up over 1,400 scrimmage yards on his way to earning First Team All-Big 12 honours.
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Strengths
What makes Robinson such a special prospect is that he boasts the ideal combination of size and speed. At 6’0″ and 220 lbs he has the perfect size to translate well to the NFL and the play strength to match. He pairs this with some legitimately impressive explosiveness and quick feet that you rarely see in a back of his size. Robinson’s ability to generate serious quickness out of his cuts and hit the hole at pace is outstanding. It helped him log a hugely impressive 13.8% explosive run rate in 2021.
Robinson isn’t just a great athlete though and he combines this quick twitch running style with excellent vision. He showcases good patience as a runner, with the willingness to let blocks develop before turning on the jets. He wasn’t often blessed with good blocking from his offensive line but his ability to overcome that by quickly reading blocks and keying off them is excellent and will translate well to the NFL level. This vision extends to the second level and allows Robinson to consistently exceed the yardage that is blocked for him.
All of this is great, but it still isn’t the best part of Robinson’s game. That would be his combination of contact balance and elusiveness. This is truly rare and amongst the best of any running back prospect to come out in recent years. Robinson is rarely brought down on first contact and is consistently able to churn out additional yardage. He is great at running behind his pads and has the play strength to rip through arm tackles and get north. The fact that he can combine this power with silky footwork makes him a nightmare for opposing defenses. Robinson forced an astonishing 79 forced missed tackles on 195 carries in 2021.
To be a true top tier running back in the modern NFL you need to be a contributor on third downs too and Robinson ticks that box. Texas tasked him with running a variety of routes from the backfield and he looked comfortable doing so. His hands as a receiver are generally reliable and he is comfortable working outside of his frame. Robinson’s elusiveness as a ball carrier also allows him to be a threat after the catch. He can even add value as a pass blocker too, with good willingness and solid technique to maintain the integrity of the pocket.
Weaknesses
It is very difficult to find a major weakness in Robinson’s game, but there are some minor issues. One of these will be question marks around his long speed. Robinson is not slow by any means, but he doesn’t necessarily have the top gear speed to separate from defenders in the open field. It would be fair to say that he is much more quick than he is fast. He has also had some problems with ball security throughout his career, with four fumbles on 282 carries.
Bottom Line
Robinson is a special talent who ranks amongst the best running back prospects to come out in recent seasons. His combination of power and elusiveness makes him a truly versatile runner who routinely creates something out of nothing. His ability to also be a plus contributor in the passing game provides the potential for a true three-down workload in the NFL.
Ideal role: Scheme-versatile three-down back
Round projection: 1st round
