Falcons RB Bijan Robinson: I want more ‘explosive’ plays next season

Bijan Robinson is the heart and soul of the Atlanta Falcons offense, but the star running back wants more.

“We’re done with 30-yard runs and all that stuff. Now it’s time to get those 60 yards, 50 yards. So, I’ve been doing a lot more explosive drills,” Robinson said on Tuesday, according to the Falcons’ team website. “I’ve been doing a lot more running — 100 yards, like sprinting — so we can be prepared for, God willing, when those moments come in all the games.”

Robinson is coming off a potent 2024 campaign. The then-second-year back rushed for 1,456 yards and 14 touchdowns on 4.8 yards per carry, while also totaling 61 receptions for 431 yards and one score. Robinson ranked second among running backs in both overall grade (92.8) and rushing grade (92.8) and fourth in receiving grade (82.2), according to Pro Football Focus.

That said, Robinson has seldom ripped off chunk plays, as he alluded to. Even in a 2024 season that saw him earn a Pro Bowl honor, Robinson had just five carries of 20-plus yards and zero carries of 40-plus yards. For perspective, star running backs Derrick Henry (19), Saquon Barkley (17), Jahmyr Gibbs (13) and Jonathan Taylor (11) had a double-digit number of 20-plus-yard rushes, while Barkley had seven carries for 40-plus yards and Henry had five carries for 20-plus yards.

In his 2023 rookie campaign, Robinson rushed for 976 yards and four touchdowns on 4.6 yards per carry. Robinson’s production shot up in 2024 due to increased usage, as he had just 214 carries in 2023 compared to 304 carries in 2024; fellow Falcons back Tyler Allgeier had 186 carries in 2023, compared to 137 carries last season.

Atlanta selected Robinson with the No. 8 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Texas. In his freshman season (2020), Robinson led the Big 12 with 8.2 yards per carry. Two seasons later (2022), he rushed for a conference-high with both 1,580 yards and 18 touchdowns on 6.1 yards per carry.

“I work on it every single day,” Robinson, who asserted that he can break defenders down “two at a time,” said about pulling off explosive plays. “Obviously, the explosives, we always want them. We’ve added so many things to this offense so we can create more explosives. And, for me, sometimes it’s that one defender, but now that’s all. That’s what I’ve been working on all offseason, just seeing that free hitter and making moves off him.”

Last year, Barkley became the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season, totaling 2,005 yards on the ground in 16 regular-season games for the Philadelphia Eagles. Does Robinson have that feat in him?

“We all want it. We’re all waiting for that Saquon type of season when it comes to explosives,” Robinson said. “But I’ve been working on it a lot this offseason. And, obviously, when it gets to the season, it’s time to go show it and go do the work the right way.”

Robinson and the Falcons open the 2025 regular season at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 7 (1 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app).

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