Asked to name the NFL’s best player, most fans would immediately leap to the best players at the most important position. Patrick Mahomes would likely be the most popular answer, while MVP winners Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson would also come to mind.
Irrespective of position, others would say Justin Jefferson, T.J. Watt, or Myles Garrett. The average fan would think all of those are reasonable answers considering the NFL is a passing league, and those players are at positions of utmost importance in that aspect, whether gaining yards through the air or preventing quarterbacks from throwing the ball.
But Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris has other ideas on who the best player is, and his pick is at a position that has undoubtedly been devalued in recent years. Morris cited one of his own, running back Bijan Robinson, when asked by reporters if Robinson was one of the best players in the NFL.
Robinson’s start to the 2025 season has been historic. In Week 1 he had 100 receiving yards, 24 rushing yards and a touchdown in Atlanta’s 23-20 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Then in Week 2 on Sunday Night Football, Robinson led Atlanta to a 22-6 victory over the Minnesota Vikings with 143 rushing yards and 25 receiving yards.
That makes him just the second player this century to record both a 100-yard rushing game and a 100-yard receiving game within the first two weeks of the season, joining LeSean McCoy in 2013. Entering Week 3, Robinson ranks second in the league with 292 scrimmage yards.
Last year, in his second season, Robinson ranked third in the league with 1,456 rushing yards and fourth with 1,887 scrimmage yards. He is one of three players in league history with over 2,400 rushing yards and 100 receptions over his first two NFL seasons, joining Hall of Famers LaDainian Tomlinson and Edgerrin James. Robinson also has 3,642 scrimmage yards over 36 games, making him one of 24 players all-time to average at least 100 scrimmage yards per game.
But Robinson is a running back, a position highly important 20-30 years ago but now almost seen as disposable. The short shelf life of the position has much to do with that as a running back can be the best or one of the best players in football one year and an afterthought the next.
Former Rams running back Todd Gurley had a two-year run that was one of the best in NFL history. In 2017, he was the Offensive Player of the Year and led the league in scrimmage yards. The next year, he was first-team All-Pro and led the league in touchdowns. Just two years later his career was over, and ironically his last season came with the Atlanta Falcons, whose interim head coach was Raheem Morris.
One only has to look at recent NFL drafts to see how little GMs and personnel executives think of the running back position, compared to pass catchers. Over the last four drafts, just four running backs have been selected in the first round, including Robinson in 2023.
But you have to give credit to Morris vouching for his guy, as Robinson is clearly the best player on the Falcons and the most important in their pursuit of a playoff spot for the first time since 2017.
The coach talked a bit more about his star running back, who he jokingly said could play more than just running back.
“Unique skill set,” Morris said of Robinson. “Unbelievable vision, unbelievable teammate, speed, physicality. Like you come across when you first meet him, you think he’s a scat back, but he’s really just everything. He has the ability to get out of the backfield, run receiver-like routes. He can stay in the backfield and block whichever linebacker you decide to bring. He just does it all. And we might line him up at quarterback this week, who knows?”
