Mike Florio and Chris Simms explore how Bijan Robinson could be exactly what the Falcons need to climb the rankings in the NFC South.

Video Transcript

MIKE FLORIO: So the Falcons end up with Bijan Robinson. They now have Kyle Pitts, Drake London, Tyler Allgeier. I forgot about Cordarrelle Patterson-- shame on me-- when I did my tweet last night of all the weapons.

CHRIS SIMMS: What a jerk.

MIKE FLORIO: Add Robinson to it, and everybody's like, oh, but Desmond Ridder sucks. You know what? You ain't gonna suck with all those guys.

Those guys are gonna make him look good. I don't know how good he's gonna be or not be as a quarterback. But you give him all those weapons, all of a sudden, he's better.

CHRIS SIMMS: Yes, 100%. Well, this is where I love this pick. And, again, here what I'm looking at real quick is I'm just trying to make sure Atlanta-- they're another team. They're picking at 44 tonight. Are they gonna make a move up to get a quarterback-- you know, Hendon Hooker, Will Levis, does that all of a sudden just fall in their lap where they're like, whoa, we didn't even think we'd have a chance to get these guys, let's make them move? That's something to watch for here tonight.

But the Bijan Robinson pick, I mean, you said it, right? They got some talent at running back, but they don't got anybody like this. This is another guy, you know, like we talked about with Jahmyr Gibbs, where he gets the ball, it doesn't matter on the field, and he goes, wait, I'm gonna score a touchdown.

I'm on my own 5. I think I can score. I'm on your 5. I think I can score.

He can do it all. And where it's awesome-- we know Atlanta's based on the run game, one of the best O-lines in the game. They got to win right now. It's a big year for them. It's year three. They've exceeded expectations. And I think this is the guy that can most directly affect their success right now in the whole draft would be Bijan Robinson.

Now he takes your team to a whole other level and status where you can play through their offense, run game, all of that, and the weapons on the outside, like you talked about-- very exciting for Bijan Robinson and the Falcons.

MIKE FLORIO: I thought a playoff contender was gonna get him and instantly become a Super Bowl contender. Instead, a team that's been on the fringes the last two years at 7 and 10 in 2021 and 2022 gets Bijan Robinson. And now--

CHRIS SIMMS: Yeah, maybe that gets him over the hump.

MIKE FLORIO: You want [INAUDIBLE] the NFC South, it's not all that hard.

CHRIS SIMMS: Yeah.

MIKE FLORIO: It's not all that hard. Falcons are my new favorite in the NFC South--

CHRIS SIMMS: Ooh.

MIKE FLORIO: --all due respect to the Buccaneers, Saints, and Panthers. But the Falcons are my-- they were 7 and 10--

CHRIS SIMMS: I hear you.

MIKE FLORIO: --last year. They've just been quietly there.

CHRIS SIMMS: And they had a great free agency.

MIKE FLORIO: They're building something with Terry Fontenot--

CHRIS SIMMS: Yeah, right.

MIKE FLORIO: --and Arthur Smith. And they're building it quietly. And, you know, they didn't make any huge moves. They didn't get in the Lamar Jackson discussion. And they're just-- they're putting it together. Desmond Ridder is gonna be the key, though. And like you said, maybe they come out of the draft still with a new quarterback. We'll see how it plays out tonight.