Last season, Brian Robinson found himself in a remarkably similar position, logging just 92 carries while backing up another elite running back in Christian McCaffrey. Now he’s sitting behind Bijan Robinson, who might just be a younger McCaffrey when all is said and done on both of their careers.
Should You Draft Brian Robinson Jr. in Fantasy Football?
The answer is no, unless you want to save yourself from making a mistake elsewhere.
To me, Robinson is the picture of ordinary. He’s going to be a handcuff running back and nothing more in this Atlanta offense, behind Bijan Robinson. That’s fine, except Bijan doesn’t miss time. There’s the idea that Brian Robinson won’t be on the field much, if at all. I think you’re probably looking at somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 to 8 touches on a consistent basis. He’s not Tyler Allgeier. He wasn’t brought in to be that.
I don’t think there’s much equity here outside of the instance that Bijan gets hurt. If that happens, I think you’re looking at a low-end running back to maybe a high-end flex, based on sheer volume and on how defenses have to play against this Atlanta offense, where you’ve got Drake London and Kyle Pitts on the perimeter to worry about. You can’t put a ton in the box. I don’t think he’d absorb the Bijan Robinson role, so you can’t do a one-to-one comparison there.
But largely, I’m not drafting Robinson in fantasy drafts this year. Let’s say you drafted Drake Maye early. If you’re forced to pick between Robinson and drafting Aaron Rodgers as a backup quarterback, it’s Robinson, and it’s Robinson with a bullet from a roster construction standpoint. I want cracks at my starting lineup from my reserves. Aaron Rodgers doesn’t do that.
If you’re wrong on Drake Maye, you’re wrong on Drake Maye because he gets hurt, and then your season’s sunk anyway because of what you spent to go get him. If Robinson doesn’t pan out, so be it. It doesn’t matter. But in that specific instance, if I spend up for a tier-1 or realistically tier-2 or even tier-3 quarterback this season, I’m not drafting a backup.
You could say the same about tight ends. If I’m drafting one of those top 5 or 6 guys, don’t draft a secondary at those onesie positions and pick up a Robinson. That’s where I think he’s usable.
I don’t think he’s realistically a top 150, 160, 170 player. He’s not a must-draft person, but if you have to scratch that itch to draft a quarterback to back up your starting quarterback that you just spent a ton on and that you’re banking on in the first place, then yeah, go take Robinson. But you’re not building depth. You’re not building a winner that way. Robinson could have some useful weeks, I guess. I’m not going there if I don’t have to in 2026.
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Brian Robinson Jr.’s Week 1 Fantasy Outlook
Robinson has been the picture of average through four seasons (4.1 yards per carry with under two targets per game), and the Falcons are well aware of that.
They moved on from Tyler Allgeier and brought in Robinson with the idea that he’d be insurance, not additive. He does have some experience as a featured back, and that’s at least interesting should the opportunity present itself, but we aren’t there, and there’s a decent chance we never get there.
He scored just twice last season and didn’t turn any of his 92 carries into a 20-yard gain. If you drafted Robinson, that’s fine. You didn’t draft him for this week, and you didn’t draft him with much in the way of expectations: if the starter is healthy, the backup in this offense isn’t getting fed in a meaningful way.
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Where Robinson Ranks Among 2026 Running Backs
Robinson sits outside our top 50 at running back. Here are the last five on the PFN Consensus Board:
- Keaton Mitchell | LAC
- Mike Washington Jr. | LV
- Tank Bigsby | PHI
- Jonah Coleman | DEN
- Tyjae Spears | TEN
Want to dive in more? PFN’s Complete PPR Running Back Rankings are updated weekly.
