Why The Philadelphia Eagles Should Pass On RB Bijan Robinson With The No. 10 Pick

If running back Bijan Robinson is available when the Philadelphia Eagles make their selection at No. 10, they should think twice about drafting the potential franchise running back.

As the 2023 NFL Draft nears, the Eagles are becoming more and more linked to the the best running back in the draft. According to NFL Network’s James Palmer, “the interest is real” from Philadelphia when it comes to Robinson.

“Top-class Texas running back Bijan Robinson continues to draw buzz as to just how high he could possibly go in the draft,” writes Palmer. “The Philadelphia Eagles have been a team associated with Robinson and NFL Network’s James Palmer reported Wednesday that ‘the interest is real’ for Philly to select the talented tailback at No. 10 overall. Palmer added though that the Eagles are ‘not the only team in that range that is interested in Robinson.’”

While this could very well be a smoke screen to throw off rival NFL teams — the Eagles do have potential needs at offensive tackle, defensive end and cornerback — the interest in potentially adding Robinson is a very real one.

As Palmer notes, there’s a number of teams interested in drafting Robinson, including the Eagles’ biggest rival, the Dallas Cowboys. However, there’s a key difference between both teams — Philadelphia makes their first pick at No. 10 while the Cowboys don’t make theirs at No. 26.

Drafting Robinson at No. 26 or No. 30 — the Eagles’ second first-round draft choice — is an absolute steal. Selecting Robinson over a potential elite defensive player at No. 10 is foolish.

At the No. 10 pick, the Eagles could very well have the opportunity to draft University of Georgia players such as pass rusher Nolan Smith or defensive tackle Jalen Carter. They could also target Oregon CB Christian Gonzalez or offensive tackle Paris Johnson.

There are no arguments here that Robinson will emerge as the best back of this draft and will be a bell-cow for the next several years for whichever team that lands him. The 5-foot-11, 220-pound back is every bit as good as advertised, drawing comparisons to three-time Pro Bowler Ezekiel Elliott and two-time Pro Bowler Saquon Barkley.

But as the Eagles enter a Super Bowl or bust season, selecting Robinson won’t be what lifts them over the Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals or Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl. Selecting an elite pass-rushing specialist who can get to Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Josh Allen is what Philadelphia needs to lift them over the top.

Remember, it wasn’t the offense that was an issue during the Eagles’ Super Bowl LVII loss to the Chiefs — it was the defense. Philadelphia’s 35-point scoring output is the highest by any losing team in Super Bowl history. And despite relying on ex-starting running back Miles Sanders — he had just seven carries in the game — very lightly in the game, the Eagles still ran for 115 yards.

The defense failed to stop Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense — which did not feature an elite running back with rookie seventh-rounder Isiah Pacheco as the starter — allowing them to drive 66 yards while draining most of the remaining time on the clock.

Imagine if the Eagles had Smith or Carter around to get a big sack on Mahomes, who was playing on an injured ankle?

Outside of Haason Reddick, Philadelphia’s current group of linebackers are weak. Free agent signee Nicholas Morrow and Nakobe Dean — who had just nine tackles last season — are the projected starters. Meanwhile, Smith could very well be Reddick 2.0 as CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso points out.

“The Eagles go with Haason Reddick 2.0 to pair with Haason Reddick 1.0,” writes Trapasso. “Smith has All-Pro upside. When in doubt, Howie Roseman goes into the trenches.”

Having a pair of dominant pass-rushing outside linebackers combined with a dominant defensive line is more valuable to their Super Bowl quest than adding a franchise back to the fold.

While Robinson has a higher ceiling than Sanders, the veteran back was no slouch last season. He was named to the Pro Bowl and ran for over 1,200 yards. If Robinson were to land in Philly, how much more rushing yards is he really going to run for?

Yes, having Robinson could lessen the amount of hits that quarterback Jalen Hurts takes in the backfield. But that’s exactly why the Eagles are pairing up Kenneth Gainwell — who ran for over 100 yards in their playoff win over the New York Giants — with free agent signee Rashaad Penny. Penny’s 5.7 yards per carry average is the highest among active running backs.

Even if Penny proves to be injury prone, Gainwell is there to pick up the slack.

The idea of adding Robinson to the Eagles’ offense would be scary. Palmer details that the Eagles’ rivals do not want to see a Hurts-Robinson backfield next season.

“I’ll just say this. A couple NFC teams I talked to this weekend DO NOT want the Eagles to draft Bijan Robinson,” Palmer tweeted. “The thought of that offense with his addition is scary in their eyes.”

However, it’s not worth it to draft Robinson over an elite pass rusher at No. 10.

Look at every recent Super Bowl-winning team’s starting running backs. None of them are what you would consider to be elite. In fact, outside of Leonard Fournette — who was picked No. 4 overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars, but won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — neither of them were top 10 picks. In fact, the highest earner on the list made $2.5 million (Percy Harvin, 2013 Seattle Seahawks).

If the Eagles were to draft Robinson at No. 10, he’d have an estimated cap hit of over $4 million.

When looking at recent running backs who were selected within the top 10 of the draft, neither of their teams won Super Bowls with those players in the fold: Cowboys with Elliott at No. 4, Los Angeles Rams with Todd Gurley at No. 10, Jaguars with Fournette at No. 4 and Giants with Barkley at No. 2.

In fact, Cowboys executive Stephen Jones recently expressed regret over picking Elliott took high at No. 4. This is despite the fact he led the league in rushing on two occasions.

“We thought Zeke obviously did an amazing job for us and came in right away and was dominant and helped us win a lot of football games,” executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones said. “So I don’t second guess that one. But … it’s hard for these guys to play 10 years at a real high level.”

The Eagles should avoid having the same regret by using a top 10 pick on Robinson.