The Falcoholic
An all-time season from Robinson propelled the Falcons run game to new heights.
The Atlanta Falcons under Arthur Smith were built to be a run-first team, but their 2023 results were a bit uneven as the head coach struggled through quarterback woes and properly dividing up work for his top two backs. No such struggles took place in 2024.
That’s partly because the Falcons leaned heavily on Bijan Robinson, who proved to be one of the small handful of great backs in the NFL during a huge breakout season. It’s partly because Tyler Allgeier, relegated to a smaller background role, still proved to be one of the best and most reliable backups in the NFL. And of course, it’s owing to the phenomenal work of an offensive line built for this.
We’ll focus on the running backs today in our second roster review of 2025.
2024 stats: 304 carries, 1,456 yards, 14 rushing touchdowns, 4.8 yards per attempt, 60.2% success rate; 61 receptions, 431 yards, 7.1 yards per reception, 1 receiving touchdown, 84.7% catch rate, 1 fumble
How great was Robinson’s season? He was third in the NFL in rushing yards, fifth in rushing touchdowns, first among running backs in success rate, and had fewer fumbles than any back with his volume of carries. In Falcons franchise history, meanwhile, he was sixth in yards, tied for second in touchdowns, and tied for third in scoring in franchise history among all non-kickers. It was an absurdly great year where Robinson made very few mistakes—his one fumble was actually a high direct snap he couldn’t corral, which isn’t really his fault—and made this offense look far better than it would have with a lesser lead back.
Robinson improved in almost every facet from 2023. His pass protection was better—I don’t give a damn what Pro Football Focus says about it, I saw the huge number of play-saving blocks that rescued Kirk Cousins from oblivion—and he was a more comfortable and efficient receiver despite a dip in target volume. The biggest improvement still was as a runner, where Bijan’s already terrific vision and ability to jump cut defenders out of their circulatory system got a boost and he showed even better patience. That allowed him to take advantage of quality blocking and frequently turn plays that looked like they might be a modest gain to an outright loss and turn them into major gains; he was actually sixth in the NFL in broken tackles to further lift his level of danger.
With a less one-dimensional attack—a hobbled Kirk Cousins allowed teams to key on Robinson to a discouraging extent in the Broncos, Chargers, and Vikings games—Robinson might have put up even loftier numbers. What is extremely clear is that he’s one of the most exciting young talents in the NFL and the engine of a dangerous Falcons offense to come with Michael Penix taking over under center, and I doubt we’ve...
