Bijan Robinson draft profile: Texas star is perfect fit for the Cowboys

Bijan Robinson has been the talk of the town in DFW since the end of the season.

He worked out with Micah Parsons, reacted with a huge smile when he saw that he was mocked to go to the Dallas Cowboys in Mel Kiper’s initial mock draft, and has played in the state of Texas for the past three years. The excitement around Robinson in Dallas is as high as ever as the draft is just over two weeks away.

But should Cowboy fans pump the brakes on pursuing Robinson in the draft?

They just franchise-tagged Tony Pollard, signed Ronald Jones, and still have promising UDFA Malik Davis under contract.

But the other side of this conversation is the fact Pollard is only on a one-year deal and is returning from injury, Jones is an average NFL running back at this point of his career, and Davis is unproven as his sample size from last season is too little to trust.

With that in mind, might Robinson be the answer for the Cowboys at running back?

Cowboys 2023 Draft: Bijan Robinson’s Strengths

Bijan Robinson is one of the highest-rated prospects in this year’s draft and has the potential to be a Hall of Fame-type player. Here are three of Robinson’s biggest strengths observed from a breakdown of his film.

1. Making the first guy miss and breaking tackles

Robinson’s ability to break tackles and make the first guy miss might be one of his most underrated skills.

This skill will translate to the next level and help him tremendously as defensive tackles and ends often end up in the backfield within a second of the running back getting the football in the NFL. Robinson has the ability to evade that first tackler and get downhill quickly. After he makes the first tackler miss he typically accelerates and uses a jump cut to evade the next tackler or just runs through them.

Arm tacklers stand no chance against Robinson as he will just run straight though them or use a stiff arm and continue his run.

Robinson’s body control during his jukes and cuts is unlike anything that scouts have seen. He is the highest rated running back in this year’s draft for a reason and he has the chance to be an elite running back in Dallas if they take him.

2. Versatility and completeness

Robinson’s strengths are countless, but one of his most overlooked skills is his versatility. He isn’t a power back and he isn’t a speed back. He’s the perfect combination of the two.

The former Longhorn is a three-down back that never has to come out of the game. He can power through defenders on third down and can run outside the tackles for big pickups on first and second down.

Robinson is extremely hard to tackle in the open field ,as he has the ability to break the first tackle and or just outrun the tackler if he needs to. He’s a day one starter and his versatility would allow him to be a star for the Cowboys immediately. He would also be a threat in the pass game as he finished with over 800 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns in his three years at Texas.

3. Leadership and locker room presence

Robinson’s final skill has nothing to do with his on-field performance and is rare among young players.

It’s his leadership.

Robinson was known as a leader in the locker room at Texas and this is something that the Cowboys would benefit from immediately. Elliott was never really known as a leader for this team and had a few problems off the field that could have distracted him from focussing on his performance on the field.

This is something that Dallas wouldn’t have to worry about with Robinson and they would have an additional leader in the locker room alongside Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons and Dexter Lawrence that is unconditionally locked in on winning.