Bijan Robinson Makes it Known: He Wants to Play with Eagles, Jalen Hurts
Bijan Robinson wants to play with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Specifically, the fabulous running back from the University of Texas wants to play with Jalen Hurts.
Some context: Robinson was asked on ESPN by Dan Orlovsky if there was any one quarterback in the league he would want to play with, excluding Kansas City Chiefs MVP Patrick Mahomes, who would it be.
Robinson first said, “shoot, there’s a lot of great quarterbacks.”
Orlovsky prodded him again and, without much hesitation this time, Robinson said, “Jalen Hurts.”
The question is: do the Eagles want Robinson to play for them and Hurts?
That question is getting closer to being answered, with the 2023 NFL Draft scheduled to begin on Thursday night.
The Eagles own two first-round picks, Nos. 10 and 30. Robinson won’t be there at 30, so if they want him, they'd have to nab him at 10.
Reportedly, the Atlanta Falcons are showing interest in Robinson with the eighth overall pick. The Falcons, per reports, are also interested in trading down a couple of spots with an eye on not only Robinson but perhaps on pass rushers Nolan Smith of Georgia and Iowa’s Kyle Van Ness.
The Tennessee Titans own the 11th overall pick but might want to move to No. 8 in order to select a quarterback.
Robinson makes sense for the Eagles, except for the fact it’s a position they don’t value very highly. Plus, it’s a deep draft class for running backs and Philly may want to wait until later in the draft before taking one.
The Eagles offense would be even more frightening than it already is with Robinson in the backfield mix, breaking tackles and catching passes, something he does very well.
His presence would be intimidating for opposing teams, per NFL Media’s James Palmer.
“When I talked to several teams over the weekend in the NFC, I’ll tell you this, they do not want the Eagles to draft Bijan Robinson,” Palmer said on the NFL Network on Monday. “They believe that would make this offense beyond scary…Running back is a need for the Eagles in this draft.”
Teams are allowed to bring in 30 prospects on pre-draft visits and Robinson was the only running back the Eagles entertained of the 21 known players they hosted.
Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.
Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.
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