Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson has been battling multiple injuries as of late, as he played through elbow and hamstring ailments last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football. Will Robinson be able to play today against the Carolina Panthers?
The Latest on Bijan Robinson’s Injury
After dealing with a hamstring injury last week, Robinson once again popped up on Thursday’s injury report with a hamstring issue. Robinson had no injury designation on Wednesday, suggesting this could be a new injury.
Fortunately, Robinson fully practiced on Friday and won’t carry an injury designation into Sunday’s game against the Panthers.
Carolina ranks 16th in EPA per rush but has allowed the second-most fantasy points to running backs this season, largely because they’ve given up an NFL-leading nine rushing touchdowns.
A full participant on Friday and no injury designation for #Falcons Bijan Robinson (hamstring) ahead of Carolina Sunday. He's good to go @ATLNewsFirst pic.twitter.com/5P2MCY7r31
— Aaron Ladd (@aaronladdtv)
The perception is that Robinson is in a timeshare with Tyler Allgeier, but he’s taken the third-highest share of his team’s rush attempts this season (62%), behind only Los Angeles Rams RB Kyren Williams and San Francisco 49ers RB Jordan Mason.
However, Robinson only has one touchdown, partly because the Falcons have had a league-low three carries from inside the 10-yard line (two to Robinson, one to Allgeier).
We’ll continue to monitor the Falcons’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates in real-time.
Bijan Robinson’s Fantasy Outlook
Robinson has played under 70% of the snaps in consecutive games after playing 81.7% of Atlanta’s offensive snaps through the first three weeks and now has been held under 80 yards of offense in back-to-back-to-back contests.
Is it time to worry?
No.
Personally, I define “worry” as the fretting of future performance. If you want to live in the past and mourn the matchups lost in weeks past due to underwhelming production from your RB1, be my guest, but that’s not “worrying” in my eyes.
MORE: Bijan Robinson Fantasy Hub: Projection, Start/Sit Analysis, Trade Advice
As we look forward, there’s enough in Robinson’s profile to have me clinging to hope. If you spent your first-round pick on him, you were betting on his elite skill set, something we’ve seen glimpses of this season despite the underwhelming overall numbers. In terms of our custom elusive rating, Robinson is right where he was last season, and his splash-play potential has been evident with a 17+ yard touch in each of his past four games.
Also working in Robinson’s favor is Kirk Cousins’ play, which is causing trouble for opposing defenses. Sure, that’s a bit of a dual-edged sword — as Cousins plays better, Atlanta stands to commit less to the run — but I have my eye on the regressed loaded box rate.
Percentage of carries vs. 8+ man fronts:
- 2023: 32.2%
- 2024: 20.9%
It feels like only a matter of time until we get a big Robinson game, and this could be that performance. A little over a year ago, he made his professional debut against these Panthers and gained 83 yards while finding the end zone through the air. That’s a reasonable expectation in this game that should feature an RB-friendly game script.
Yes, I understand that it was Allgeier who opened the overtime period last week on the field and that he continues to be worked in as a consistent part of the Falcons’ offense. But if we are willing to acknowledge that Robinson’s production is on the very low end of expectations and that has resulted in Allgeier playing just 28% offensive snaps this season (2023: 31.9%), isn’t the team telling us that they are waiting for their lead back to find his form?
