I’m not so sure you can say the running back market is in a much better place since Le’Veon Bell had to take a year off from his prime to finally land a lucrative contract that averaged nearly $14 million annually.
Bell took the 2018 season off, his age-26 campaign, with the Steelers before landing with the Jets the following season. Seven years later, the market has drastically picked up with four running backs making north of $20 million annually, including the sensational Bijan Robinson, who has been well worth that price after another dominant performance on Monday night in the Falcons’ 45–24 victory over the Saints.
Still, I think it says something that the league’s most talented running back (sorry, Jahmyr Gibbs) didn’t hesitate to quickly re-sign to a franchise that hasn’t been to the postseason since 2017. The running backs are now well compensated, but maybe the power that Bell seeked still isn’t there for the position.
Robinson had every reason to take a wait-and-see approach with the Falcons hiring Kevin Stefanski, who had many issues on the offensive side of the ball in his final two seasons with the Browns. The top running backs or those in similar situations as Robinson likely took notice of what occurred for Saquon Barkley once he finally left the Giants for the Eagles. He rushed for 2,000 yards, won a Super Bowl and is one of the four running backs making $20 million per season. Barkley had to be forced to leave New York to finally get the change of scenery he needed. The Giants refused to meet his asking price and told him to test the market, and he signed a team-friendly deal with the Eagles.
It’s understandable that Robinson chose financial security immediately and hoped that the Falcons would find a way to build a winner after he signed a three-year, $66.75 million contract extension in August. But he might have had some regrets in the back of his mind after starting the first two games of the season with Cooper Rush at quarterback and dropping to 0–2 with dreadful offensive performances against the Steelers and Panthers.
Now it seems that Robinson’s gamble will eventually pay off. It has become clear that the Falcons (2–2) are a better team with Michael Penix Jr. under center and that Stefanski can produce a quality offense with him at quarterback. That was the issue in Cleveland—there was no reliable signal-caller. Stefanski needed talent at the most important position in football.
In Atlanta, talent hasn’t been the issue, with a handful of first-round picks that have turned into either reliable starters or stars, with Robinson and wide receiver Drake London being in the latter category.
Even with the Falcons at 2–0 since Penix’s return, it’s too soon to say they have their franchise quarterback. But he has been good enough to have everything run smoothly. Penix threw a 31-yard touchdown to Jahan Dotson to finally put the game away in the fourth quarter against the Saints on Monday. Penix, the 2024 first-round pick, finished 15-of-20 for 223 yards and the one touchdown. The threat of his left arm and what London could do on the outside are partly why a lane materialized for Robinson to break off a 59-yard touchdown on the third play off the game. Robinson finished with 19 carries for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
It sounds simple, but just having a balanced offense has made all the difference for the Falcons in the back-to-back victories against the Packers and Saints. And from a positive perspective, tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. still hasn’t been a factor on offense (though Pitts did generate a 28-yard reception in the fourth quarter on Monday.) If Stefanski can unlock him to go with what we have already seen from the trio of Penix, Robinson and London, this could be the year the Falcons finally end their (eight-year) postseason drought.
Atlanta crushed a divisional rival on the road, and many pegged the Saints (1–3) as a sleeper to win the NFC South. The Buccaneers have become an afterthought after starting the season 0–4. The Panthers (2–2) embarrassed the Falcons in Week 2 with a 34–3 victory and have been red-hot with Bryce Young finally turning the corner. But the Panthers bested the Rush-led Falcons. Atlanta is a different team with Penix under center.
All the talk was about how good Saints quarterback Tyler Shough could be after a hot start to his second season. Now the attention in the division has shifted to the Falcons finally making the most of their first-round draft picks of the past five years.
Again, talent hasn’t been the issue in Atlanta. That probably wasn’t difficult for the new front office regime, led by president of football Matt Ryan and GM Ian Cunningham, to determine. It’s always been about the execution.
So far, this front office has gotten it right to tab Stefanski as the coach to finally get this team to execute. They were also right to continue to see this through with the picks of the previous regime by re-signing Robinson, London and Pitts. And most importantly, something has clicked for Penix since returning from his torn ACL.
It got ugly for a bit, but Robinson’s decision to re-sign with the Falcons looks as if it will pay off in more ways than just financial security.
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GILBERTO MANZANO
Gilberto Manzano is a staff writer covering the NFL for Sports Illustrated. After starting off as a breaking news writer at NFL.com in 2014, he worked as the Raiders beat reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and covered the Chargers and Rams for the Orange County Register and Los Angeles Daily News. During his time as a combat sports reporter, he was awarded best sports spot story of 2018 by the Nevada Press Association for his coverage of the Conor McGregor-Khabib Nurmagomedov post-fight brawl. Manzano, a first-generation Mexican-American with parents from Nayarit, Mexico, is the cohost of Compas on the Beat, a sports and culture show featuring Mexican-American journalists. He has been a member of the Pro Football Writers of America since 2017.
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