Getty Quarterback Dak Prescott hands the ball off to running back Tony Pollard of the Dallas Cowboys.
Bijan Robinson would embrace the opportunity to play alongside Tony Pollard if he gets selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL Draft.
Robinson is widely regarded as the best running back in this year’s draft and has been heavily linked to the Cowboys. He won the Doak Walker Award last season with Texas as the nation’s top running back, racking up 1,580 yards on 258 carries with 18 touchdowns.
Dallas used the franchise tag on Pollard this offseason and he’s expected to be the lead back. However, Robinson would embrace a partnership with a Pro Bowl partner.
“If they have the chance to draft me, I think it’d be something special with the running back they do have now in Tony Pollard,” Robinson told Yahoo Sports. “Obviously I want to go anywhere and am happy to be anywhere. … We could talk about it all we want, but we’ll just see on Thursday if it happens.”
Much like Pollard, Robinson sees himself as a Swiss Army Knife-type player with the ability to line up all over the field. That kind of skill set would make it much easier for the Cowboys to harness the potential of both backs.
“I’m a guy who can play receiver, play slot, play running back and have just as much of the same effect as when I am playing running back,” Robinson said. “You have a guy who can do all those type of things for their offense and your team and become a game-changer in that type of way? I think that’s when the value really comes in.”
Cowboys May Have to Move Up to Draft Bijan Robinson
The Cowboys have the No. 26 pick in the draft but it remains to be seen if Robinson will be available in that spot. If Robinson is there, it sounds like Dallas would be very happy to make him a Cowboy.
“If you happen to see a back there at the bottom of the first that’s rare and unique and he falls because he’s a running back? I’d have to think we’d be considering it,” Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones said. “Especially if we thought he should have been picked in the top half of the draft, but maybe because he is a running back, he’s fallen a little bit. And obviously a lot of these backs can come into the NFL and play right away and play at a high level right away.
“Zeke proved it. Emmitt [Smith]. We’ve been fortunate enough to have backs like that.”
Insider: Bijan Robinson Makes Cowboys Super Bowl Contenders
GettyBijan Robinson of the Texas Longhorns.
The Cowboys had a solid offseason, adding some key depth and retaining many of their free agents. They also released veteran running back Ezekiel Elliott in a cap-saving move, leaving a hole on the depth chart and adding a bit of pressure on Pollard.
With many of their needs taken care of, adding a weapon like Robinson would be a luxury and something Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio feels would put the Cowboys firmly in the conversation as a top Super Bowl contender.
“I think the Cowboys if they get him would fall in that category,” Florio said during an interview with 105.3 the Fan. “It would be very fascinating to see how high the Cowboys would go and what they would give up to try and get him because to the extent they have urgency to try and win a Super Bowl, that’s the one guy I can see making the biggest difference for them right away.”
The NFL Draft starts on Thursday with the first round and runs through Saturday.