Bijan Robinson is a sure-fire first-round pick this year, and Peter King has made a case for the Detroit Lions as the team to take him.
The devaluation of the running back position means someone has to be unique to be a first-round pick, let alone a potential top-10 pick. In this year’s running back class, Bijan Robinson is that guy. There’s a wide range of mock draft thoughts on where he could go in the first round, but he’s going in the opening round.
In this week’s “Football Morning In America” column, Peter King dove into Robinson and any notion he shouldn’t be a first-round pick.
"I seem to be in the minority on this: I don’t think teams, particularly teams that are in contention and would be significantly improved with a great offensive weapon, should be overly concerned with whether a rookie will be around long enough to sign a second contract.That’s partially because the majority of first-round picks do not sign second contracts with teams anyway. From 2011 to 2014, in fact, per overthecap.com, only 38 percent of the top 10 picks signed second deals with teams, and just one-third of those picked 11 through 20 re-signed with teams."
Peter King makes a concise case for Detroit Lions to draft Bijan Robinson
King goes further to outline Robinson’s versatility, with an anecdote from Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian that he could be a full-time receiver if he was wanted to be used that way.
The Philadelphia Eagles at No. 10 overall is an interesting landing spot for Robinson. But King, a known believer in where things are going in Detroit, mentioned the Lions.
"But let’s not stick to Philly. Go to mid-round, and pick 18, where Detroit would certainly be in contention to draft Robinson. His cap number in the first four years as the 18th pick: $2.8 million, $3.5 million, $4.2 million, $4.8 million … between 1 and 3 percent of your cap each year."
Laid out the way King laid it out, going right to the cap numbers for the 18th overall pick before a fifth-year option that is to be determined, Robinson would make some sense for the Lions with their second first-rounder.
There are a few ways the Lions can notably raise their offensive ceiling, for 2023 or beyond. Adding someone regarded as a generational talent at running back would be one way, even if Robinson’s college teammate might be a nice fit too.