After Kyle Pitts got his three-year, $54 million deal signed on Tuesday, the next man in line to get paid by the Atlanta Falcons is likely star running back Bijan Robinson. Contract talks are reportedly ongoing and when they have concluded Robinson is expected to be the highest-paid running back in the NFL, even ahead of Saquon Barkley and Christian McCaffrey.
There’s good reason for that, because Robinson is probably on the verge of a statistical explosion in 2026. With Tyler Allgeier now in Arizona, Robinson should be on-pace for a heavier load of carries and touches than he had been getting the previous three years.
The latest evidence for this comes from Josh Kendall at The Athletic, whose latest roster projection for this coming season has the Falcons only carrying three running backs (Bijan Robinson and Brian Robinson Jr., plus Tyler Goodson), which is great news for Bijan’s fantasy owners, among other things.
“The Browns only kept two running backs on their initial 53-man roster last year under Stefanski, but the idea of having just two feels light for this team. The top two are set and in order, with Bijan Robinson expected to get the lion’s share of the carries and Brian Robinson stepping into the Tyler Allgeier fill-in role. Goodson is a three-year veteran with 304 special teams snaps in the last two seasons. That special teams experience gives him an edge on Nathan Carter.”
Three running backs may sound a little bit light given how important the run is against the heavy trend of two-safety sets, but the Falcons can always elevate one from the practice squad if they need to.
Odds are they won’t, unless one of the Robinsons gets injured.
Bijan already led the league in scrimmage yards (2,298) last season as well as yards after catch. With a fat new contract in place, the Falcons will want to get the absolute most for their money from Robinson, who’s just now entering his prime athletic years at 24.
Expect the run game to consist of a whole lot of Bijan Robinson, more Bijan Robinson and then a little bit of Bijan Robinson on the side.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: The Athletic has Falcons only carrying three running backs on roster
