When the Philadelphia Eagles take the field against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2, there will be one player above all others at the top of Nick Sirianni’s scouting report: Bijan Robinson.
Widely considered the best running back prospect to enter the NFL since… probably Saquon Barkley, Robinson didn’t exactly have a record-breaking rookie season, only rushing for 976 yards on 216 carries and four rushing touchdowns but is already off to a quality start in 2024, picking up 68 yards in Week 1 on the ground to go with 43 yards as a receiver.
Factor in the uncertainty surrounding Kirk Cousins moving forward, as he looked off in Week 1 and had to play predominantly from the pistol as a result, and if the Eagles struggle in Week 2, it will likely be because their front seven can’t slow down the former Texas Longhorn.
Asked about the challenge of defending Robinson in Week 2, Sirianni broke down what makes the Falcons’ top rusher so hard to bring down, going so far as to compare him to one of the true fan-favorite players the Eagles have employed in some time.
Nick Sirianni and the Eagles see something familiar in Bijan Robinson
While watching Falcons tape to put together his team’s game plan for Week 2, Sirianni consistently came back to the same thing while watching him slice up opposing defenses: gosh, Robinson looks a lot like Barkley.
“Yeah, we showed some tape of him today of just how elusive he is. I think if you look, his first touchdown was like play 11 against Carolina last year, play 11 of the game of game number 1. They throw him a little swing pass, and he makes the first guy miss, then he makes another guy miss, and he runs through a tackle. He’s a really good football player who can create on his own. Things can break down, and he still can make a play,” Sirianni told reporters.
“A lot of things remind me of when we used to — it felt like today in the team meeting when I’m showing those, it felt a little bit like, ‘Hey, these are the clips I was showing when we were getting ready to play the Giants and [RB] Saquon [Barkley].’ He’s really elusive and really fast, got good hands.
“Yeah, enjoyed my pre-draft process with him. I always enjoy meeting good guys, good football players, and spending time with them, and he’s a heck of a football player that’s done a nice job so far in this league. We’ll have to be ready to tackle. We need to tackle better than we did last game, and it’s going to be a big deal in this week’s game, as every game is.”
You know, while Sirianni is a pretty good evaluator of talent, he’s far from the first person to compare Robinson and Barkley, as that was one of the popular comps for the Texas product coming out of college to the point where the Eagles’ new RB1 has discussed it himself.
Still, just because something is popular doesn’t mean it’s wrong, and in this case, there really isn’t a better comparison for Robinson in the NFL right now, as much like Barkley, he has a blend of size, speed, strength and burst the likes of which is almost unparalleled in league history. While both players obviously want to see their team come out on top in Week 2, don’t be surprised if they have a little motivation to show up and show out in Week 2, as fans will surely declare a winner in their head-to-head battle based on who puts up better numbers at Lincoln Financial Field on Monday Night.
