Watch: Bijan Robinson on video
The Atlanta Falcons now employ the NFL’s top-ranked running back, and the league’s reporters keep saying the same thing about what comes next. ESPN’s annual poll of executives, coaches and scouts placed Bijan Robinson No. 1 at the position entering 2026, edging Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs, and ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said Saturday on SportsCenter that the ranking and the contract push are connected.
“Bijan Robinson, 24 years old. He’s in position to dominate in the NFL over the next half decade,” Fowler said. “Atlanta knows this, which is why they’re trying to pay him on an extension this summer.” Fowler added that Robinson beat out Gibbs on the strength of nearly 2,300 all-purpose yards and his ability to create when blocking breaks down.
Why it matters
The production case is short and convincing. Robinson carried 287 times for 1,478 yards and seven touchdowns in 2025, added 79 catches for 820 yards and four more scores, and was named first-team All-Pro. He has missed no meaningful time through three seasons, which matters as much to the front office as the yardage does.
The negotiation is already live. ESPN Falcons reporter Marc Raimondi wrote in June that conversations between the team and Robinson’s representatives are ongoing and that all indications point to an agreement well before his contract runs out. Atlanta holds Robinson through 2027 after picking up his fifth-year option, so there is no procedural deadline — only a market that gets more expensive the longer the team waits. Any deal is expected to move past Saquon Barkley’s $20.6 million per year at the top of the running back market.
This is the last piece of a deliberate offseason sequence. Atlanta signed Drake London to a four-year, $141.1 million extension in June, then locked in Kyle Pitts at three years and $54 million earlier this month. Robinson is the third top-10 pick in the trio and the one the front office has called its clearest priority. The Falcons have shown they can close this summer — twice. Veterans report at the end of July, and finishing the third deal before then would let a team with real expectations spend camp talking about football instead of money.
