Bijan Robinson? The Eagles Haven't Drafted a First-Round Running Back Since 1986
Bijan Robinson visited the Birds:
This post from Texas RB Bijan Robinson last night was indeed what it looked like. He’s paying a pre-draft visit to the #Eagles today, source says. Our guy @MoveTheSticks has said Robinson to Philly makes a ton of sense, though Howie Roseman has never gone RB Round 1. pic.twitter.com/InWMlOPm3G
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 21, 2023
Not only has Howie Roseman not gone first round running back, ever, but the Eagles haven’t done it since 1986, when they took Keith Byars out of Ohio State.
Just for the sake of the exercise, I went through every single draft since then and found that, in addition to passing on first round RBs, they’ve only taken four in the second round since Byars, which are:
- 1992 – Siran Stacy
- 1994 – Charlie Garner
- 2009 – Shady McCoy
- 2019 – Miles Sanders
That’s it. And even then, some context should be applied. Charlie Garner, for instance, was a 2nd rounder but the Birds had two 1sts and two 2nds that year, so they used their first two selections on Bernard Williams and Bruce Walker, a couple of guys for the trenches. Shady was drafted after a first round WR and Miles Sanders taken after a first round tackle, so the Birds are always gonna prioritize the trenches and other skill positions before going running back.
Bijan Robinson is a beast, but it’s just highly unlikely they take him in the first round, even at 30. I’d be stunned. And there’s no way he falls to the bottom of the 2nd. Just not gonna happen. They did their reclamation project signing with Rashaad Penny, brought back Boston Scott, and they like Kenny Gainwell. Jalen Hurts is basically RB2 anyway.
