Texas running back Bijan Robinson is one of the best players in the draft regardless of position. But Robinson isn’t likely to go as high as he should for one simple reason: Running backs are devalued in the NFL.
“I don’t want to say it’s unfair,” Robinson said Saturday. “I think that God has a plan for wherever I’m going to be at. You just never know on that day where you’re going to go. For me, it’s just important to keep enjoying the moment. We might get to draft day and some surprise can happen. We just never know. For me, I’m just trying to keep staying positive. Always know that the blessings are here and just keep having fun doing it.”
Iowa State’s Breece Hall was the first running back drafted a year ago, going 36th overall to the Jets. Alabama’s Najee Harris, the 24th overall choice of the Steelers in 2021, and Clemson’s Travis Etienne, selected a spot later than Harris, were the last running backs drafted in the first round, and Penn State’s Saquon Barkley, the No. 2 pick of the Giants in 2018, was the last running back selected in the top 10.
Robinson compares himself to Barkley.
He ran for 1,580 yards and 18 touchdowns last season in winning the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top running back. Robinson finished his three-year career with 539 carries for 3,410 yards and 10 touchdowns, though he caught only 60 passes for 805 yards and eight touchdowns.
“First of all, I feel that if you’re a guy that can do all three on the football field for your offense, I think that’s a very special quality in a player,” Robinson said. “You can line up a player at receiver, at slot, or obviously at running back. Just creating mismatches for defenders all over the field and be able to create space for yourself and create space for the offense and opening up the offense, I think that is just like a high value that everybody should look at. I know there’s a lot of running backs in this class that have that quality. It’s important to see those kind of skill sets and just how we go about our business on the field.”