Bijan Robinson has established his value in this league, both for fantasy football managers and the Falcons, and this contract extension is simply further proof of that. The term “generational talent” gets used too much in today’s world, but the case could be made for him to hold that title given the first three seasons of his career and potential growth as he enters the prime of his career. But managers have one question about him: is he the 1.01?
Should You Draft Bijan Robinson in Fantasy Football?
In PFN’s Free Fantasy Mock Draft Simulator, Bijan currently has an ADP of 2.0, so he’s sitting firmly as that second overall pick. But PFN’s fantasy analysts Jason Katz and Kyle Soppe have him as the number one player in the entire league from a fantasy football perspective. He’s projected just over 23 points per game in PPR formats, which is the second most among any skill-position player and the most among all running backs. It’s more than 2 points per game higher than the second-place projected finisher, who’s Jahmyr Gibbs.
If you have the first overall pick, Bijan is a guy that you absolutely have to consider. He’d be my pick with the first overall selection. He’s proven that he’s durable. He can handle a massive workload in the run game. He’s also a very valuable receiving back. He’s been very productive in both regards, so in PPR he’s essentially going to be a cheat code.
With the Falcons’ murky quarterback situation, I anticipate that Bijan’s going to get a lot of carries and a lot of touches in the passing game. They’re not going to feel as comfortable with someone like Tua Tagovailoa or Michael Penix stretching the field vertically with someone like Drake London or Kyle Pitts. I could see a lot of checkdowns to Bijan, especially with Tyler Allgeier gone. They still have Brian Robinson Jr. in the mix, but I anticipate that to be a downgrade from Allgeier. Bijan’s only going to get an even larger share of the touches out of that Falcons backfield.
He’s somebody I think is going to put up tremendous numbers this season. I’d take him 100% at his ADP of 2. But even if I had the number one overall pick, I’d take him. That’s how good I think Bijan is going to be in fantasy football this year.
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Bijan Robinson’s Week 1 Fantasy Outlook
Analysis provided by PFN Analyst Kyle Soppe.
Only time will tell you whether Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs (or neither) was the right call at 1.01 this season, but there’s little reason to think that Atlanta’s star can’t shine in the season opener.
He logged 18+ touches in every September game last season and has hit that mark in 7 of his past 8 September appearances. That level of work feels like a foregone conclusion with Tyler Allgeier out of town and, once again, a lack of confidence in terms of the QB.
For his career, he’s averaging 5.6 yards per touch and over 110 yards per game: give this man his touches and watch the box score light up. Gibbs was the only RB to score 20 PPR points against the Steelers last season, so maybe there’s a slight matchup downgrade, but I’m not even sold on that (fifth-most yards per carry allowed to running backs after contact inside the red zone last season).
We aren’t 100% sure what to expect from this offense, but we know it’ll all revolve around #7, and until we see the NFL consistently figure out a way to slow his efficiency, I’ll be penciling him in for 100+ scrimmage yards with a better chance to find paydirt than to be held out of the paint (34 TDs in 51 career games).
This week should be fine by his lofty standards: Panthers, Packers, and Saints over the next three games could be downright dominant for the player I had atop my preseason rankings.
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Where Robinson Ranks Among 2026 Running Backs
- Jahmyr Gibbs | DET
- Bijan Robinson | ATL
- Jonathan Taylor | IND
- James Cook III | BUF
- Christian McCaffrey | SF
- Saquon Barkley | PHI
- Chase Brown | CIN
- Derrick Henry | BAL
- De'Von Achane | MIA
- Kenneth Walker III | KC
- Omarion Hampton | LAC
Compare him against the rest of the board in PFN's Full PPR Running Back Rankings.
