Is Bijan Robinson the NFL's top RB? He is in primetime - ESPN

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Atlanta Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski shows high school football highlights of his players to the team on Fridays. For most, the glory days of high school set a bar few could match against NFL competition.

Then there's Bijan Robinson.

To be clear, Robinson was a superstar at Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson, Arizona. He was the Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior in 2019. But Robinson's highlights on Friday nights don't match what he has done under the lights in the NFL.

Since the 1970 NFL/AFC merger, no player has more scrimmage yards per game in primetime than Robinson (145.4 in 11 games) with a minimum of five games, per ESPN Research. Barry Sanders is second with 126.3 scrimmage yards per game in 20 contests. OJ Simpson (123 in six games) and Jonathan Taylor (121.8 in 12 games) are third and fourth, respectively.

Robinson will try to keep it rolling Monday when the Falcons (1-2) travel to New Orleans (1-2) to face the Saints (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN).

«For me, whether it's primetime, whether it's a 1 o'clock game, they're all the same in terms of my mentality,» Robinson said. «Everybody watches you on TV, and they watch you in the stands.

»I love what Kobe [Bryant] said: 'They paid to watch you, so you got to do your job on the field.'"

Robinson was remarkable against the Green Bay Packers on «Thursday Night Football» in Week 3, leading Atlanta to a 35-14 road win. He had 29 carries for 194 yards and two touchdowns, and added another 19 yards on two receptions.

«He's an elite player,» Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said. «He's one of the best in the league at any position.» The Falcons signed Robinson to an offseason extension that briefly made him the highest-paid running back in NFL