Bijan Robinson's case to be the first player drafted in 2026 Fantasy Football leagues just got complicated
Robinson's outlook in 2026 could be altered by his new supporting cast
Oh boy. We're set up for some mistakes on Draft Day. The Falcons really made things challenging for us when they signed Brian Robinson Jr. on Tuesday to a one-year, $2.5 million deal.
Now, when you have the No. 1 or No. 2 overall selection in your Fantasy league, you have to make sure you're clicking Bijan Robinson and not Brian Robinson. I'm sure there will be plenty of problems in several leagues.
There's no mistaking which Robinson is better though, and that's Bijan. Adding Brian to the Falcons roster is just depth, and he will be the replacement for the departed Tyler Allgeier. Brian was the backup to Christian McCaffrey in San Francisco in 2025, and Brian only had 92 carries for 400 yards and two touchdowns and eight catches for 25 yards. He averaged 3.8 PPR points per game.
We will hopefully only see Brian if Bijan needs a break. Or, in the worst-case scenario, if Bijan gets injured.
But Bijan is set up for a monster season after what he accomplished in 2025 with 287 carries for 1,478 yards and seven touchdowns, and he added 79 catches for 820 yards and four touchdowns on 103 targets. He averaged 21.8 PPR points per game, which was good for No. 3 overall among non-quarterbacks behind only Christian McCaffrey (24.5) and Puka Nacua (23.4).
The Falcons will have a new look offensively this season with Kevin Stefanski at head coach and likely Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback. He has to beat out Michael Penix Jr. (ACL) for the starting job, but we expect Tagovailoa to open the season under center with Penix coming off the knee injury he suffered in Week 11 last year.
Robinson should benefit with Tagovailoa, who helped De'Von Achane get 172 targets over the past two seasons for 145 catches, 1,080 yards and 10 touchdowns. This is a good marriage for quarterback and pass catcher out of the backfield.
Bijan, even with the addition of Brian and the changes on offense, is in the discussion for the No. 1 overall pick. But I would draft him at No. 2 overall behind Jahmyr Gibbs.
With David Montgomery now in Houston, I like Gibbs as the best player in all Fantasy leagues. The Lions added Isiah Pacheco to replace Montgomery, but I expect Gibbs to dominate touches this year.
Over the past two seasons, Montgomery has missed six games due to injury, and Gibbs has scored at least 25.4 PPR points in five of them. When Montgomery missed three games in 2024 due to a knee injury, Gibbs averaged 32.6 PPR points over that span.
The NFL Draft could change what happens with Gibbs and Bijan Robinson at the top of the rankings. Both have new backups, but I'm more excited about Gibbs -- for now -- over Robinson.
And if I get the No. 2 overall selection on Draft Day and Gibbs is gone, I just have to make sure I select Bijan and not Brian. The Falcons made things confusing for us, but Bijan is definitely the Atlanta running back you want with your first-round pick.
