Bijan Robinson Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio writes that he has "very credible indications" that QB Kirk Cousins is "seriously considering" a move to Atlanta to sign with the Falcons. Cousins' wife grew up near Atlanta, and the Falcons "have always been the top alternative to the Vikings for Cousins," per Florio. Cousins would be a nice fit playing indoors in new OC Zac Robinson's offense with WR Drake London, TE Kyle Pitts, and RB Bijan Robinson. Likewise, a move for Cousins would be excellent news for the fantasy value of Atlanta's key weapons. We should know who Cousins will be playing for in 2024 within the next couple of weeks.

Falcons RB Bijan Robinson shared one of his goals for the 2024 season. "I want 2,000 yards rushing," Robinson told Sports Illustrated. "I know those are big expectations, what we can do as an offense, with all the weapons, our O-line with [OC] Zac [Robinson] being at the helm… it can be something special.” As a rookie, Robinson tallied 976 rushing yards across 17 games. And note: in league history, only eight RBs have reached 2,000 rushing yards. Clearly, it's an aspirational goal. Still, Robinson should push for the league lead in touches, making him a top-3 target in our fantasy football RB rankings.

The Falcons are hiring Zac Robinson as their new OC under HC Raheem Morris, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The 37-year-old Robinson played QB at Oklahoma State from 2006 to 2009. He was selected in the seventh round of the 2010 NFL draft by the Patriots but never attempted a regular-season pass across four seasons. Robinson then spent some time working as an analyst for Pro Football Focus before joining Sean McVay's Rams in 2019 as assistant QB coach. Robinson worked his way up to QB coach and passing-game coordinator over the last two seasons, but this will be his first time calling plays. Robinson's new offense has plenty of skill-position talent in RB Bijan Robinson, WR Drake London, and TE Kyle Pitts, but QB remains a major question mark. Atlanta currently holds the eighth overall pick in this spring's draft.

Falcons RB Bijan Robinson posted 15 carries for 75 rushing yards in Week 17 vs. the Bears. The rookie was also able to haul in 3 of 4 targets for 11 yards as a receiver in the contest. Though Robinson’s debut campaign had its complications, he’s on pace to become the 17th rookie RB to accumulate 1,000 rushing yards in a season since 2013 and sits as the RB12 overall in PPR scoring. It’s not quite the dominant “2016 Ezekiel Elliott” first season that fantasy managers had hoped for, but it’s encouraging enough to remain optimistic about Robinson as a high-end RB1 in dynasty formats. The biggest potential boon for his value would be if Atlanta chose to move on from HC Arthur Smith after the season and allowed Robinson the opportunity to take on a larger workshare instead of splitting with teammate Tyler Allgeier. Be sure to keep up with us on that front as we head into 2024.

Falcons RB Bijan Robinson rushed a team-high 12 times for 72 yards in Sunday's win over the Colts. He added team highs in targets (10), receptions (7), and receiving yards (50). That followed his 7-carry, 1-catch Week 15 but marked his fourth game of 19+ touches among the past six contests. Robinson didn't find the end zone, watching RB Tyler Allgeier log the team's only rushing score. That came from 31 yards out, though. Robinson got all four RB opportunities from inside the 10-yard line for the game. That's good. It's less good that Allgeier garnered 9 carries and Cordarrelle Patterson 7 to Robinson's 12. Week 17 takes the Falcons to Chicago to face a defense that ranks third in rush DVOA.

The Falcons will bench QB Desmond Ridder for the second time this season, The Athletic reports. Ridder mustered just 152 passing yards with one TD and one INT in the Week 15 loss to the Panthers. He's at 10 TDs vs. 10 INTs for the season and ranks 32nd among 33 qualifying QBs in Pro Football Focus' passing grades. This figures to be the end of Ridder's tenure in Atlanta. We'll see where he lands in 2024, but it's likely to be as a backup. QB Taylor Heinicke will take back over for the Falcons vs. the Colts this weekend. He's made three appearances this season, registering a 55.4% completion rate and 6.7 yards per attempt. Those marks are both worse than Ridder's this season.

Falcons RB Bijan Robinson finished the Week 15 loss to Carolina with seven carries for 11 yards and one catch for three yards. His 59% snap rate was his lowest in a healthy game all season. RBs Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson combined for 19 carries and four targets. It was a major letdown and surprise after Robinson averaged 16.5 carries and 5.0 targets over his previous four games. Fantasy owners who survived this dud will need to go back to Robinson in Week 16, barring any news about an injury that we haven't heard about yet. The rookie gets a plus matchup vs. the Colts' 31st-ranked RB defense. Week 17 brings a much tougher draw vs. Chicago.

Falcons RB Bijan Robinson went off against the Saints in Week 12, racking up 123 scrimmage yards on 19 touches with 2 total TDs. Sunday was the first time the rookie had cracked 100 total yards in a game since Week 4 vs. the Jaguars. Robinson played on just 62.9% of the team’s offensive snaps and handled 47% of the RB carries, right around his season averages in those categories, so it’s not as though he just suddenly separated himself from the rest of the backfield. But moving forward, he’ll have a string of quality opportunities to ride this momentum and help fantasy managers in the fantasy playoffs. The Falcons’ remaining schedule ranks third-easiest for RBs per our adjusted fantasy points allowed. Next week, Robinson will take on a lowly Jets defense that has allowed at least 130 rushing yards to opposing offenses in nine of 11 games in 2023.

Falcons RB Bijan Robinson took a season-high 22 carries for 95 yards (4.3 per rush) and a TD in Sunday's loss to the Cardinals. That beat his previous high by 3 carries and marked eight more rushing attempts than he had received in a game since Week 2. Robinson's TD came from 5 yards out, just his third carry from inside the 10-yard line all season -- and his first since Week 6. Tyler Allgeier carried just nine times in a game that found Atlanta leading throughout the first half and the lead going back and forth after the break. Robinson added just one 11-yard catch among 2 targets, but only two teammates drew more targets as Atlanta attempted only 21 passes (vs. 41 rushes). If this signals a change in work split, then Robinson could be a fantasy difference maker the rest of the way. Atlanta now gets a Week 11 bye but faces four strongly positive matchups among the final six games after the bye.

Falcons RB Bijan Robinson saw 11 carries for 51 rushing yards and 2 catches for 8 receiving yards in Week 9 vs. the Vikings. Fellow RB Tyler Allgeier was again a thorn in the side of the rookie, tallying 30 total yards and a rushing TD on a combined 14 touches in the contest. Allgeier’s involvement has cut into Robinson’s fantasy scoring lately. Over the past four games, Robinson only accounts for 34% of the Falcons’ RB touch opportunities. With how frustrating this offense is in the hands of HC Arthur Smith, it’s become tougher to project whether or not the former Texas standout is a low-end RB1 or middling RB2 each week. At least Week 10’s showdown vs. the Cardinals (third-easiest RB matchup in adjusted fantasy points allowed) should present a get-right spot for Robinson.

Falcons WR Drake London (groin) is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Vikings. That leaves Atlanta with WRs Van Jefferson, KhaDarel Hodge, Mack Hollins, and Scotty Miller. Seriously. TEs Kyle Pitts and Jonnu Smith should draw more targets with London out. RBs Bijan Robinson and Cordarrelle Patterson could also play expanded roles in the passing game.

Falcons RB Bijan Robinson rebounded in Week 8 vs. the Titans, tallying 62 rushing yards and a TD on 11 carries. The rookie also saw 5 targets in the contest but didn’t record a single reception. Overall, this level of involvement is a considerable improvement over last week’s dud vs. the Buccaneers. It seems wherever ailment prevented Robinson from seeing more touches in Week 7 is behind him. Fantasy managers should feel confident firing up the rookie in lineups next weekend vs. the Vikings.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport says Falcons RB Bijan Robinson "won't be affected" by the headaches that wiped him out of Week 7's game vs. the Bucs. "Not something long-term that's gonna affect him. Not something that's gonna affect him next week," Rapoport added. Robinson averaged 13.3 carries and 5.3 targets over the first six games of the season and should be back in a similar role vs. the Titans this Sunday.

Falcons RB Bijan Robinson said after the win over the Bucs that he played sparingly because of a consistent headache, per Terrin Waack of the team's official website. "It (started) last night. I was feeling weird," Robinson said. "I woke up, just completely out of it. I tried to take medicine so I could be good for the game. But my head was hurting. Bad. I don't know what was going on. I tried to go in pregame, but then coach (Arthur) Smith said, 'We'll be all right. Let's get you right.'" We'll keep an eye on Robinson's status this coming week, but he should be back in his usual role for next Sunday's game vs. the Titans.

Tyler Allgeier operated as the Falcons' workhorse RB in Tampa Bay on Sunday, with RB Bijan Robinson barely playing due to an illness. Allgeier struggled to get anything going on the ground, totaling just 59 yards on 21 carries. He added 53 yards on three catches, most of that coming on a 46-yard catch and run in the fourth quarter. We'll look for further updates on Robinson but would expect Allgeier to be back in his prior role next week. He averaged 12.5 carries and 1.7 targets over the first six games of the season. Week 8 brings a tough matchup vs. the Titans' ninth-ranked RB defense.

Falcons RB Bijan Robinson went without a touch in the first half of Sunday's game at Tampa. After the break came word from HC Arthur Smith that the rookie is "just not feeling all that great," according to Tori McElhaney of the team website. "Don't expect him to play much more," she added. Woulda been nice if fantasy players could have heard that before the game started.

Falcons RB Tyler Allgeier recorded 13 carries for a team-leading 51 rushing yards in Week 6’s loss vs. the Commanders. His rookie teammate Bijan Robinson logged an equal number of carries with 31 rushing yards and roped in 5 of 8 targets for 43 receiving yards as a pass-catcher in the contest. Though the Falcons’ run game wasn’t super effective on Sunday, Robinson’s contributions in the receiving game elevated him to 13 PPR points. Fantasy managers can hope for a better outing in Week 7 vs. the Buccaneers.

Falcons RB Bijan Robinson racked up 137 total yards in Sunday’s loss vs. the Jaguars. The rookie showcased his skill set in London with an impressive one-handed snag in the contest while also serving as the lone functional piece of the Atlanta offense. Tyler Allgeier took a back seat in Week 4, only tallying 7 carries for 16 yards and one catch that netted negative yardage. Managers who drafted Bijan should be thrilled to start him again next week vs. the Texans.

Falcons RB Cordarrelle Patterson (thigh) is active for today’s game vs. the Jaguars in London. We’ll see how much he mixes in behind RBs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier in his 2023 debut, but Patterson is only an option in one-game DFS contests.