There’s no secret that many Eagles fans desperately want their team to take Texas running back Bijan Robinson in the first round of the NFL Draft.
Turns out that would make Robinson pretty happy too.
The star running back was on ESPN Tuesday and was asked which quarterback, aside from Patrick Mahomes, he’d like to play with. Robinson named Jalen Hurts.
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And, yeah, the though of Robinson in the Eagles’ already-explosive offense is a really fun thought. Hurts, of course, was the MVP runner-up to Mahomes in the 2022 season.
Robinson, 21, made just two pre-draft visits this offseason: One to Tampa and one to Philly. So it’s not too much of a surprise that he named Hurts.
How did his visit in Philly go?
NFL
“It was great,” Robinson said. “With both teams that I was with just building relationships with the coaches, the support staff, the GM, even the janitor. The janitor was super cool too. It was an awesome visit.
“For me, I pride myself on relationships and building those relationships and understanding who people are. So even when I was with the Eagles or the Buccaneers, just talking to other teams as well, it’s been such a fun process understanding who those people are and just having a good time throughout the whole process. But it was a good time there. But obviously I can’t choose and Thursday we’ll just have to see what happens.”
One of Nick Sirianni core values is connecting and it seems like Robinson began to connect with Eagles staffers during that visit.
There’s no question that Robinson is a star prospect. In 2022, he rushed for 1,580 yards and 18 touchdowns and also caught 19 passes for 319 yards and 2 more scores for the Longhorns. He is widely considered one of the top overall prospects in this class.
The problem, of course, is that the Eagles generally don’t use premium resources on the running back position. We all know their history in the first round. They haven’t drafted a running back in the first round since Keith Byars in 1986. And just this offseason they let Miles Sanders walk when he signed a a four-year, $25 million deal with the Panthers.
In the Eagles’ pre-draft press conference last week, general manager Howie Roseman was asked about the narrative that the Eagles will never again draft a running back or linebacker in the first round. Here’s what he said:
“I think the most important thing when you're picking in the first round, certainly when you're picking 10, is that you get a unique player,” Roseman said. “I think that there are so few unique players in any draft that if you start picking by position and not based on the quality of the talent, then you really get a chance -- so if you pick by position and you pick a player who's not any good, then it's not a good pick anyway.
“I think the most important thing for us here is that we utilize this opportunity to get a unique player for our team. Certainly not planning to be picking at this point in the near future. That doesn't mean -- obviously things happen, but we're not planning for that. So, we understand how important it is to get this right, and how do you get it right is you make sure you get a unique player.”
Is Robinson unique enough to make the Eagles draft him in the first round? We’ll find out soon enough.
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