Every player in the NFL is technically eligible to win the MVP award, however, the trophy almost always ends up in the hands of the league's top quarterback. Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan took home the NFL's top individual honor nearly a decade ago, and now he's back as the team's president of football.
Ryan has teamed up with Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham and head coach Kevin Stefanski to attempt to get this team back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 NFL season. Coincidentally, the quarterback position is the team's biggest question mark ahead of training camp.
Regardless of whether Michael Penix Jr. or Tua Tagovailoa wins the starting QB job, the Falcons will look star running back Bijan Robinson to carry the offensive
load. The former Texas Longhorn has established himself as arguably the league's top RB.
NFL..com's Kevin Patra identified each team's non-QB MVP candidate for the 2026 season and Robinson was an easy pick for Atlanta.
"The game's most electric runner should fit perfectly into Kevin Stefanski's wide-zone-centric offense. In his first five seasons as an offensive coordinator or head coach (2019-2023), Stefanski’s offenses ranked among the top 10 teams in rush attempts each year and were among the top six in rushing yards in four of those five campaigns.
At the foundation of his offense is the ground game, with play-action and boots as counters. Robinson has a chance to improve on his back-to-back seasons with 1,400-plus ground yards, potentially putting him in position to win his first rushing title. He also could threaten Chris Johnson's single-season scrimmage-yards record (2,509)." - Kevin Patra, NFL.com
Considering the uncertainty at quarterback, Robinson is a no-brainer here. While he will certainly carry the Falcons offense, Robinson isn't your typical back. He excels in basically every area. Aside from being one of the top pass-catching running backs in the league, Robinson is an exceptional blocker.
The former top-10 pick has incredible vision, whether he's running it up the gut or bouncing it outside. Plus, Robinson doesn't shy away from contact and has been extremely durable through his first three seasons. While unlikely, it's not out of the question that Robinson could challenge CJ2k's all-time scrimmage yards record.
The fourth-year Falcons running back only seems to be getting better. If Atlanta can solidify the quarterback position, it would give Robinson even more room to run this season.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: NFL analyst identifies Falcons' non-QB MVP candidate for 2026
