Bijan Robinson is in elite company entering the 2026 season.
NFL.com's Grant Gordon listed the Atlanta Falcons running back as one of 12 contenders to be voted the NFL's best player, a notable step for a 24-year-old who was ranked No. 62 in the 2025 NFL Top 100 season list. Robinson's rise is backed by a 2025 season that made him impossible to ignore.
He led the NFL with 2,298 scrimmage yards, pairing 1,478 rushing yards with 820 receiving yards. He also scored 11 total touchdowns, with seven on the ground and four through the air. That production helped Robinson earn first-team All-Pro recognition, a spot as an Offensive Player of the Year finalist and a Pro Bowl selection.
Why Robinson's leap matters
The context around Robinson makes the recognition even more meaningful. The Falcons finished 8-9 in 2025 and missed the NFL Playoffs for the eighth consecutive season, but Robinson still gave the team a true star-level centerpiece. When a running back can produce at that level while also handling a major role as a receiver, he becomes much more than a volume runner.
Robinson is also already joined on the list by another Falcon, Drake London, who was placed at No. 66. But Robinson is the one now being discussed in the broader top-player conversation as the NFL Top 100 rollout continues.
For Robinson, the next step is obvious: turn one huge season into sustained production. If he does that, his jump from No. 62 in 2025 to contender status entering 2026 will look less like a breakout and more like the start of a longer stretch among the league's very best players.
