Over the past three NFL Drafts, the Atlanta Falcons have made headlines, and not always for positive reasons. There was swift and fierce criticism for the team’s first round picks each of the last three years, including:
2023 - Drafting Bijan Robinson instead of Jalen Carter
2024 - Drafting Michael Penix, Jr. after already paying Kirk Cousins $100 million
2025 - Giving up a 2026 1st round pick to jump back into the 1st and selecting James Pearce, Jr.
Each pick sparked immediate backlash. But zoom out, and the early results tell a different story:
Since entering the league, Bijan Robinson ranks third in total yards from scrimmage (3,350), trailing only Derrick Henry (3,495) and Saquon Barkley (3,525).