PHILADELPHIA - When the dust settles, Falcons running Bijan Robinson might end up being better than the Eagles' Saquon Barkley.
They're certainly comparable based on last season, Robinson's rookie year, and through Week 1 this season.
Robinson had 976 yards rushing in 2023, averaging 4.6 yards per carry, and caught 58 passes for 487 yards, while playing every game. Barkley had 962 yards rushing last season for the Giants, averaging 3.9 yards per carry. He caught 41 passes for 280 yards. Barkley played in 14 games, missing three with a sprained ankle.
Barkley had the better Week 1 game in his Eagles' debut, getting 109 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns while catching 2 passes for 23 yards and a TD in the Eagles' 34-29 win over Green Bay. Robinson had 68 yards rushing, 43 yards receiving in the Falcons' 18-10 loss to the Steelers.
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Still, you might have to forgive Eagles coach Nick Sirianni for looking at Robinson video this week as they prepare to face Robinson and the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night, and thinking that he's watching Barkley.
"It felt a little bit like, 'Hey, these are the clips I was showing when we were getting ready to play the Giants and Saquon,'" Sirianni said. "(Robinson) is really elusive and really fast, got good hands."
Sirianni admitted that the Eagles scouted Robinson intensely leading up to the 2023 draft. But the Eagles missed out on a chance to draft Robinson, who went No. 8 overall. The Eagles, at No. 10, moved up to No. 9 and drafted defensive tackle Jalen Carter.
It's likely that the Eagles would have taken Carter over Robinson even if both had been available. And the Eagles addressed running back during that draft by trading for D'Andre Swift, who ended up having a career year with 1,049 yards rushing.
But Swift was a free agent after last season. Instead of splurging on Swift, the Eagles let him leave and signed Barkley to a three-year contract worth as much as $37.8 million.
Sure, there's a risk involved. The average annual value on Barkley's contract is $12.6 million per year, more than twice that of Robinson's $5.5 million. And the Eagles are also taking a risk in that Barkley, who's 27 years end, could be nearing the downward slope of a running back's career.
Robinson, who doesn't turn 23 until January, is just getting started.
But it's clear that the Eagles value the defensive line more than a running back in the first round. And Carter certainly is a franchise player on defense while Barkley fits that bill on offense.
That strategy has worked well for the Eagles. Before Swift, the Eagles had Miles Sanders in 2022, and he rushed for a career-high 1,269 yards.
But Sanders and Swift aren't nearly as complete of a running back as Barkley.
"He's a great player, and we knew what type of player we were getting," Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts said about Barkley. "And I think from my vantage point, it's exciting to see. Just to see him come in and see how he adds a dimension in terms of how we complement each other across the board."
The "across the board" part includes making Hurts more dangerous as a passer and a runner. That was evident in the Eagles' opener against Green Bay on Sept. 6 in Brazil. Despite Hurts' 2 interceptions, he still threw for 278 yards and 2 touchdowns mainly because the Packers were so focused on Barkley that wide receivers AJ Brown (119 yards) and DeVonta Smith (84 yards) had room to work the defense.
Sure, Robinson could have given the Eagles that, too, both last year and against Green Bay. But then the Eagles wouldn't have had Carter.
Carter is the anchor at defensive tackle now that Fletcher Cox is retired. Carter had 6 sacks last season as a rookie, while playing 48% of the snaps. While Carter didn't have a sack against the Packers, he did play 76% of the snaps, with 3 tackles and a quarterback hit.
And the Eagles will be relying on Carter to help stop Robinson.
"On the D-line, you just gotta stay on your blocks," Carter said. "There are certain things that their O-line want the D-linemen to do. If it's like a sweep or something, they want us to turn our shoulders and start running. But our goal is to try to stay square on that. It's little details that we need to do. If we do it to our max, it will stop the run."
And the Falcons will count on Robinson to get their offense going. That's because veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins is coming off a torn Achilles, and he wasn't mobile to begin with. By establishing the running game, Cousins can buy time to throw. Plus, the Falcons can control the clock and keep Barkley and the Eagles' offense off the field.
"I love Bijan," Barkley said. "He's one of my favorite backs to watch. I remember I was watching his highlight tape on YouTube just this offseason. He's gonna be even more special.
"Super big fan of him. Future is bright. This Monday night, hopefully he's not as special as he usually is."
Even if Robinson is, the Eagles are still better off with Barkley and Carter than just with Robinson.
Star wide receiver A.J. Brown was listed on the Eagles' injury report Friday with a hamstring injury. He was listed as limited, an indication that the injury occurred in practice. Brown was not listed on the injury report Thursday. The Eagles' injury report Saturday will indicate Brown's playing status for Monday night.
The other new listing on the injury report was T Fred Johnson (thumb). DT Milton Williams was also limited with a foot injury. Williams was also limited on Thursday.
Contact Martin Frank at [email protected]. Follow on X @Mfranknfl or Threads and Instagram @martinfrank1.