Only three running backs in the long history of the NFL have achieved 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in the same season. The legendary Marshall Faulk is one, likely future Hall of Famer Christian McCaffrey is another, and the underrated Roger Craig is the third. Bijan Robinson has a real shot to become the fourth member of that exclusive club in 2025.
How? He’s currently on pace for 1,335 rushing yards and 1,148 receiving yards, totals that don’t feel unreasonable given his production
to this point. Bijan just had 1,456 rushing yards a year ago, so I feel very comfortable projecting him to clear 1,000 this year with continued good health. The receiving mark is trickier—his previous career high was 487 yards in 2023, so it would be unprecedented—but he’s being used as a legitimate, frequently targeted weapon in the passing game.
While that would be an all-time honor, Robinson is also working his way up the franchise leaderboards. For example:
- A modest 700 rushing yards the rest of the way will see him surpass Dave Hampton for seventh all-time on the franchise career rushing yards list. He’s only 1,150 yards away from Michael Vick and, from there, just 114 yards behind Devonta Freeman for fifth all-time. This is his third season, remember.
- If he manages 500 receiving yards the rest of the way—again, not an unreasonable expectation—he’ll fly by Jason Snelling, Art Malone, Gerald Riggs, Bob Christian, Warrick Dunn, and Jamal Anderson for receiving yards from a Falcons running back. At that point, only Devonta Freeman and William Andrews would be ahead of him.
- Six more combined touchdowns would put him at 25th all-time in scoring for the franchise, ahead of Jim Mitchell, T.J. Duckett, and Jason Elam. Ten more would have him passing Tony Gonzalez and Alge Crumpler, settling in right behind Warrick Dunn. Three rushing touchdowns would put him past Michael Vick for 9th all-time in that metric.
I lay all this out not to say he’s going to achieve all these marks—though he certainly could—but to illustrate that we are watching a truly special player doing remarkable things. I always urged fans to enjoy the magic when Matt Ryan was in his prime throwing darts everywhere, when Julio Jones was dusting hapless cornerbacks on a regular basis, and when Michael Turner was mashing defenders to a fine paste beneath his mighty cleats. We should be doing the same with Bijan, whose cuts and vision are already legendary among his peers, and who is sometimes single-handedly keeping this offense afloat and competitive on a weekly basis. Not only is he great, but he’s the engine this team needs to keep running if they want to be successful at last in 2025.
Fingers crossed that when the season ends, we’re celebrating a playoff berth and Robinson joining a very exclusive club of running backs at the same time.
