Every once in a while, an athlete comes along whose abilities literally jump off a TV. An athlete who makes everything seem almost effortless. Bijan Robinson is one of those athletes.
Robinson, 24, has quickly become one of the NFL's best offensive players. And if he isn't a household name yet, he will be by season's end. After flying under the radar during the season's first two weeks, Robinson ran like a man possessed during Atlanta's wins over the Packers and Saints.
Robinson torched Green Bay's defense for 194 yards and two touchdowns. Against New Orleans, Robinson rumbled for 145 yards and two more scores. His 59-yard touchdown set the tone for Atlanta's 45-24 win.
Robinson's recent success mirrors what he did over the past two seasons, when he emerged as one of the league's top running backs. Robinson was already considered an elite running back entering the 2026 season, but now, it's fair to ask if he is the best running back to come along since Barry Sanders, the Lions' legendary runner who abruptly retired after the 1999 season. In an effort to see just how good Robinson's NFL career has been so far, CBS Sports Research put Robinson's numbers through 55 games alongside some of the century's other great backs over their first 55 games.
Sanders was also included. Of the 10 running backs listed below, Robinson is second in receiving yards and average yards-per-carry, third in touchdown receptions and average scrimmage yards per touch, fourth in receptions and total scrimmage yards, fifth in rushing yards, seventh in scrimmage touchdowns and eighth in rushing touchdowns. The table above reinforces the fact that Robinson's career so far is just as good -- and, in some cases, better -- than the NFL's other great backs since the turn of the century.
As noted above, Robinson is a complete football player. He has the size and strength to run between the tackles, the vision to find the spaces are in a defense, the elusiveness to make defenders miss, and speed that allows him to turn solid runs into game-breaking ones. Bijan Robinson reached a top speed of 21.78 mph on his 59-yard TD run, the second-fastest speed by a ball carrier this season and the second-fastest of Robinson's career.@ATLvsNO | #DirtyBirds pic.twitter.com/Id3snQvOyv Along with his physical tools, Robinson has valuable intangibles.
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