2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Is Texas RB Bijan Robinson a Good Fit For Cincinnati Bengals' Offense?

The 21-year-old is expected to be the first running back taken in this year's draft.

Author:
Mike Santagata
Publish date:
Feb 22, 2023 9:43 AM EST

In this story:

Texas running back Bijan Robinson is one of the 10 best players in the 2023 NFL Draft. At 6-feet tall and 220 pounds, his workhorse size matches his rare movement ability.

He’s a former 5-star recruit from Arizona who played his college ball at the University of Texas. He started 28 games over three seasons, won the 2022 Doak Walker Award, finished fourth in Longhorns history for rushing yards, and was a unanimous All-American.

Robinson’s intelligence, technical ability, and athleticism will challenge teams on their belief that RB is a devalued position.

Where He Excels

Robinson has excellent vision and quickly knows exactly where he needs to go on a run play. Not only does he know where to go, but he also sets up his blocks behind the line of scrimmage and plays very patiently, before making a violent cut and getting down field.

His balance makes him tough to bring down. He can withstand quite a bit of force pulling him without being pulled down in the slightest. Also does a great job of staying on his feet after lowering his shoulder and initiating contact.

His ability to decelerate and accelerate quickly along with a shiftiness from his lateral agility make for a player that becomes very difficult to tackle and stay in front of as a defender. He moves like a remote control car at times and has the ability to make big cuts with one step.

He has surprising intelligence and will in pass protection. Robinson can be trusted to stay on the field all three downs with his ability to recognize what the defense is trying to do and to pick it up to keep his quarterback clean.

Has the ability to be a threat both underneath and deep as a pass catcher. Robinson has reliable hands for checkdowns and routes to the flat while he also shows impressive tracking and the ability to work down the field on rail and wheel routes.

Workhorse size at 220 pounds. Robinson should be a durable back that can be relied upon over the course of an entire season while handling a majority of the touches in the backfield.

Areas of Concern

He seems to have lost just a touch of top end speed at 220 pounds, compared to when he played at 210 pounds. He can still breakaway from defenses but he’s probably more of a 4.4 guy in the 40-yard dash.

He'll try to make something out of nothing a little bit too much. At times he needs to recognize that a play is dead and to just pick up the yards in front of him.

The value of the running back position.

Overall Thoughts

Robinson should be a workhorse running back in the NFL from day 1.

He has the frame and size to take a season’s worth of hits, rare running ability, good pass protection chops, and is a weapon as a receiver.

Robinson is the perfect modern running back. He can punish teams that play two deep safeties by squeezing everything possible out of every run play while also being a true matchup nightmare for linebackers in the passing game. While running back has been devalued, Robinson makes a case to be one of the exceptions to the idea that taking a running back in the first round is malpractice. He adds value in every aspect of the offense. He can consistently get what is in front of him while also being an explosive play waiting to happen. There is nothing easier for a quarterback than hitting his running back on the checkdown and watching him make guys miss as he sprints for 20 or more yards.

As a runner, Robinson’s vision, frame, and movement ability create someone who should have a very high floor in the NFL. He likes to lower his shoulder and initiate contact just as much as he likes to make violent cuts and movements to make defenders miss in the open field.

His burst and ability to stop start will create opportunities out of nothing by making defender’s pursuit angles wrong. Despite a devalued running game in the modern NFL, Robinson will create explosive plays while keeping the offense ahead of the sticks by mitigating 2nd-and-long or 3rd-and-long opportunities with consistent running.

Scheme Fit

Robinson fits in any modern offense. He has the vision to play within a zone based offense while having the ability to set up blocks and navigate tight spaces required to play in a power running offense. He should go to a team that will utilize him both as a runner and a receiver.

Grade

Top 10

Pro Comparison

Le’Veon Bell

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