{"id":189564,"date":"2025-07-08T00:11:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T00:11:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/189564\/"},"modified":"2025-07-08T00:11:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T00:11:12","slug":"falcons-bijan-robinson-beats-out-49ers-christian-mccaffrey-in-espns-top-nfl-rbs-list-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/189564\/","title":{"rendered":"Falcons’ Bijan Robinson beats out 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey in ESPN\u2019s top NFL RBs list"},"content":{"rendered":"

If there was one bright spot from the Atlanta Falcons\u2019 disappointing 2024 season \u2014 besides the emergence of rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr.<\/a> \u2014 it was the continued rise of Bijan Robinson as one of the NFL\u2019s most dynamic running backs.<\/p>\n

Drafted No. 8 overall in 2023, Robinson was initially considered a reach by many \u2014 not because of his talent, but because of the declining value of the running back position. Yet the former Texas Longhorns standout has more than lived up to the billing, proving he was worthy of a top-10 pick even on a team that failed to meet expectations.<\/p>\n

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Robinson finished the 2024 season third in the NFL in rushing yards with 1,456 \u2014 trailing only Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry \u2014 and fifth in rushing touchdowns with 15.<\/p>\n

Needless to say, Robinson\u2019s breakout sophomore campaign has sent a message across the league. He\u2019s officially arrived. In fact, a new ESPN poll of league executives, coaches, and scouts ranked Robinson as the No. 4 running back in the NFL, per Jeremy Fowler<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cRobinson entered the league with considerable expectations and has largely met them,\u201d Fowler wrote. \u201cHe’s one of three players in NFL history to produce 2,400 rushing yards and 100 receptions in a player’s first two seasons, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers Edgerrin James and LaDainian Tomlinson.\u201d<\/p>\n

Falcons writer Will McFadden emphasized how notable that company is.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s apparent to anyone who has watched Robinson on a football field that he has rare gifts. Seeing his name alongside those two particular players helped cement the specific lineage Robinson might just belong to,\u201d McFadden wrote<\/a>. \u201cLike Tomlinson and James before him, Robinson is a true all-purpose running back who threatens defenses in every imaginable way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robinson appeared in the top three on half of the ballots submitted for ESPN\u2019s rankings but ultimately landed at No. 4 \u2014 just behind Detroit Lions standout Jahmyr Gibbs. Still, his placement puts him ahead of proven stars like San Francisco\u2019s Christian McCaffrey (5th), Green Bay\u2019s Josh Jacobs (6th), and Indianapolis\u2019 Jonathan Taylor (7th).<\/p>\n

\u201cSize, speed, acceleration, pass game, value, breaks tackles, can hit home runs,\u201d one NFL coordinator told Fowler. \u201cHe\u2019s a nightmare to prepare for.\u201d<\/p>\n

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With high expectations already mounting for Penix to lead Atlanta back to the postseason, Robinson may face just as much pressure \u2014 especially as the centerpiece of a Falcons offense looking to become one of the NFL\u2019s best in 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If there was one bright spot from the Atlanta Falcons\u2019 disappointing 2024 season \u2014 besides the emergence of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":189565,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2074],"tags":[223,254,2554,4127,4124,292,113,224,7,2004,1674,6388,1753,4129,1879,6,1161,894],"class_list":{"0":"post-189564","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-atlanta-falcons","8":"tag-atlanta","9":"tag-atlanta-falcons","10":"tag-atlantafalcons","11":"tag-bijan-robinson","12":"tag-christian-mccaffrey","13":"tag-derrick-henry","14":"tag-detroit-lions","15":"tag-falcons","16":"tag-football","17":"tag-indianapolis","18":"tag-jahmyr-gibbs","19":"tag-jeremy-fowler","20":"tag-jonathan-taylor","21":"tag-josh-jacobs","22":"tag-michael-penix-jr","23":"tag-nfl","24":"tag-san-francisco","25":"tag-saquon-barkley"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114814719800154898","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189564\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}