The saddest stories in NFL history often involve a franchise wasting the prime years of a generational talent, and it most frequently happens with running backs. And knowing what the Atlanta Falcons have in Bijan Robinson, wasting the prime of their star is the last thing they can afford to have happen.
In three seasons with Bijan as the centerpiece of their offense, the Falcons won seven games in 2023, and eight in 2024 and 2025 and their playoff drought has yet to be snapped. A combined 23-28 record across three seasons despite having arguably the NFL's best offensive weapon at their disposal. If they're not careful they may follow the lineage of other highly-drafted RBs.
Right now there isn't much doubt that Atlanta will sign Bijan Robinson to a market-altering extension before the summer ends, but once that happens, a new layer of pressure will be put on the new regime: because the graveyard of elite RBs who played for losing teams is a big one.
The Falcons can learn from other team's mistakes with Bijan Robinson
There is too much history to be had here. Adrian Peterson, Saquon Barkley, Barry Sanders, and even Walter Payton were among the backs who went through the same thing as the fourth-year man. And while they had spurts of playoff success, it wasn't consistent enough to capitalize on such elite talent.
The most egregious example of this is with Barry Sanders. The Detroit Lions had the best running back of all time for 10 seasons, and they only made the playoffs five times. They only made it past the Wild Card Round once, and after Detroit went 5-11 in 1998, the ex-NFL MVP retired at the age of 29.
Weirdly enough, AP was a similar story. He was in Minnesota from 2007 to 2016 and instantly became one of the NFL's best rushers. Just like Sanders, he rushed for over 2,000 yards en route to an MVP season, but the Vikings only made the playoffs four times in 10 years with him due to QB instability.
And then we have Saquon Barkley haunting Bijan's time with the Dirty Birds. The current highest-paid RB in NFL history spent six seasons with the New York Giants after being drafted second in the 2018 NFL Draft, but Big Blue's only playoff appearance with him came after they went 9-7-1 back in 2022. And during the 2023 offseason, he signed with the Eagles, with whom he won a Super Bowl in Year 1.
Of all these RBs, Walter Payton is the only one to win a Super Bowl with the team that drafted him, but it took a while for him to get there. Though the Chicago Bears were dominant at the end of his career, including that '85 Super Bowl run, the Bears only made the playoffs twice in his first nine seasons,
In the modern NFL, the running back position is one you can model your entire offense around, especially if the All-Pro back is who you're working with. Bijan has been haunted by the Falcons' QB instability more than anyone over these last three years, and let's be real here, no one likes losing.
It's not like you're going to ever consider trading a talent like Bijan Robinson when he puts butts in seats, but the Falcons can't be stuck meddling in mediocrity for much longer. Once they extend him, Atlanta needs to learn from these teams and ensure their generational RB reaches the playoffs sooner rather than later.
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