Falcons Send Executives to Watch Texas Longhorns RB Bijan Robinson: Source

The Atlanta Falcons had a pair of important front office members in attendance for Saturday's Iowa State Cyclones vs. Texas Longhorns college football game.

The 2023 NFL Draft is still over six months away, but the league is in the midst of its biggest evaluation period: the college football season.

The campaign is now seven weeks old, and scouts and executives alike are beginning to get an understanding of the top prospects and potential tar

Evidently, the Atlanta Falcons have a great deal of interest in at least one prospect on the Texas Longhorns, as a source confirmed to Falcon Report that Falcons director of college scouting Anthony Robinson and vice president of player personnel Kyle Smith were in attendance for the Longhorns' game vs. the Iowa State Cyclones.

Typically, teams send scouts to focus on prospects on the home team, as they'll make trips to the visitor's campus at another point during the season. Scouts look at nearly every Division I school, but executives don't take in several games a season, making the appearance of Robinson and Smith noteworthy.

The game's top prospect is Longhorns running back Bijan Robinson, who's well-regarded as one of the consensus top-two runners in the class. The 6-0, 222-pound Robinson fits Atlanta's size and scheme tendencies, and he comes with a three-down skill set.

On the season, Robinson has 138 attempts for 780 yards (5.7 yards per rush) and 10 touchdowns. He's added 16 receptions for 239 yards and a score through the air. The 20-year-old Robinson has posted five straight games with over 100 yards rushing and has cleared the 100 all-purpose yards mark in every game to date.

Against Iowa State, Robinson proved he's capable of being a bell-cow running back, totaling 28 carries for 135 yards while contributing four receptions for 36 yards in Texas' 24-21 victory.

However, it's also entirely possible that Robinson wasn't the apple of Atlanta's eye. Texas has several talented upperclassmen, with nose tackle Keondre Coburn, cornerback D'Shawn Jamison, running back Roschon Johnson, right tackle Christian Jones, outside linebacker Moro Ojomo and off-ball linebacker DeMarvion Overshown all appearing on the Reese's Senior Bowl watch list.

As for the visiting Cyclones, receiver Xavier Hutchinson surely caught Robinson and Smith's attention, finishing with 10 receptions for 154 yards. At 6-3, 205-pounds, Hutchinson would fit in well with Atlanta's big-bodied group of pass catchers.

Ultimately, the college football season is just reaching its halfway point, and there's still the entirety of the pre-draft process standing between the Falcons and draft night.

But if Atlanta opts to select Robinson or one of his teammates, the performance that was put on the field Saturday could have certainly played a role.

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You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft

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