Is Falcons RB Bijan Robinson too good to be true? We asked … and asked … and asked

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Miami Dolphins punter Bradley Pinion is a two-time Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee. He and his wife Kaeleigh made a mission trip to Africa with Compassion International and helped fund two child development centers in Tanzania. And he says Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson “might be the best human I’ve ever met in my life.”

Falcons offensive lineman Chris Lindstrom says when aliens land on Earth, Robinson should be one of the human race’s representatives at the summit. When Robinson signed the deal that briefly made him the highest-paid running back in NFL history (Jahmyr Gibbs would pass him three days later), offensive lineman Jake Matthews struggled to come up with something adequate to say about his teammate.

“It’s almost too hard to continue to express a way to sing his praises,” Matthews said. “Like, I don’t think the guy’s ever done anything wrong before. He’s just an all-around good human being.”

Lindstrom: “If there were 100 humans to represent humanity, we’re going to recommend that guy be on that short list. From the locker room, we are sending him out. The athletic ability, the talent, the quality of human he is. He is the best person, the most genuine, loving, caring person you can find.”

So, the NFL’s leader in yards from scrimmage the last three seasons (5,648 yards) is a great guy, too?

“I was cautioned by people, ‘You’re not going to think this guy is real when you talk to him,’” first-year Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said.

Frankly, it can all seem too good to be true. Matt Ryan admits he used to wonder exactly that. Atlanta’s president of football and all-time leading passer was traded away from the Falcons a season before the team drafted Robinson eighth in 2023. Like everyone else, he saw Robinson’s television appearances and social media clips and wondered if it could all be real. So Ryan called his former offensive coordinator and Robinson’s coach at Texas, Steve Sarkisian.

“Sark was like, ‘Dude, that’s every day,’” Ryan said. “I’ve gotten to know him over the last couple of years, and I think he’s a special person.”

Surely, somewhere in Robinson’s life, there’s dirt, right? If there is, Phil Gruensfelder hasn’t found it. Gruensfelder has been the athletic director at Robinson’s high school alma mater, Salpointe Catholic, in Tucson, Ariz., for 25 years. After Robinson ended a heated recruiting battle by picking the Longhorns in 2020, Gruensfelder’s phone rang.

“My wife’s first cousin’s son, Matt Rutherford, is the equipment manager for the University of Texas,” Gruensfelder said. “Matt’s mom reached out to me and said, ‘Tell me about Bijan.’ I said, ‘He’s the nicest kid you can be around.’ Through his three years at Texas, I would hear from Matt’s mom, and she’d say, ‘Matt can’t speak more highly about Bijan. He’s one of those kids that will stick around the locker room and make sure it’s cleaned up, make sure he meets every person who wants an autograph.’”

Gruensfelder once started a conversation in his local grocery store with a man wearing a Falcons’ No. 7 jersey.

“The guy said, ‘He is really that normal?’” Gruensfelder said.

Yes. Well, sort of.

The perpetually smiling 24-year-old plays the “College Football ’27” video game daily, like many men his age. Granted, he’s playing online with his best friend, the actor Jonathan Daviss, who stars in the Netflix series “Outer Banks” and is scheduled to play Snoop Dogg in an upcoming biopic. Robinson also has a relationship with Brazilian soccer star Vinicius Junior because they are clients of celebrity jeweler Leo Frost, and he’s buddies with French soccer superstar Kylian Mbappe. Robinson also texts regularly with Matthew McConaughey. There are more stars in his cell phone, but Robinson’s too chagrined to name them.

“I’ve met some cool people,” he said, “but I’ll keep that one in.”

In his three seasons with the Falcons, Bijan Robinson has 5,648 yards from scrimmage, the most in the NFL during that time. (Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

When Robinson came to Atlanta, linebacker Kaden Elliss, a seven-year (and counting) NFL veteran, expected some entitlement. Then Elliss watched the running back sit through every special teams meeting during his rookie year.

“We’re looking, like, ‘Dude, we all know you’re never going to play special teams,’ but he sat there all year,” Elliss said. “He’s just got this humility to him.”

Elliss, now with the New Orleans Saints, spent three seasons in Atlanta with a locker next to Robinson’s, trying to see if there were any cracks in the running back’s foundation. When pressed to name even one, he could not.

“The premier athletes at the premier positions so often are what you’d call a diva — they’re often so selfish. Not Bijan,” Elliss said. “He’s got this smile, brings this joy every single day, whether he is sitting in his locker or playing on the field. It’s special, and it’s contagious.”

Elliss’ sentiment was echoed by more than a dozen current and former teammates, coaches and acquaintances in Robinson’s orbit, as a months-long attempt to find anyone with a discouraging word about the Falcons’ most marketable star came up empty. Informed by a reporter of the effort, Robinson responded the way he always responds, with the wide smile that made him a Colgate pitchman.

“You won’t find nobody,” he said confidently. “I’m telling you, man, this is just me. This is who God made me to be. I wake up, I smile, I say prayers, talk to God, I take my vitamins, and I go about my day. That’s just who I am — seriously.”

Seriously, Donald Nguyen, the director of sports medicine at Texas, said.

“I have zero dirt,” Nguyen said. “It’s true. He’s a saint.”

After Robinson signed his first NIL deal with Raising Cane’s, he regularly brought lunch for the Texas training staff, and he sang “Happy Birthday” to Nguyen’s daughter on FaceTime, the trainer said. It was a noticeable change for a staff member whose job can feel anonymous and taken for granted in a locker room.

“He always said hello. He treated everyone with respect,” Nguyen said. “He would get to know our families. The guy is amazing.”

Let Bijan be Bijan pic.twitter.com/78LKHJr7em

— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) September 2, 2026

John Bianco, the Longhorns’ longtime director of communications, tried hard to think of anything that might help this quest. He could only come up with two things: Robinson’s Texas teammates said he was a “terrible” basketball player, and he stopped to talk to too many people coming off the field after games.

“I’d have to be like, ‘Coach will never get to his postgame speech if you take a picture with everyone walking off the field,’” Bianco said.

When Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro arrived in Atlanta as a second-round draft pick in 2024, he was nervous about approaching the Falcons’ young star. He shouldn’t have been.

“The way he would talk to me was like he already knew me, just encouraging 24/7,” Orhorhoro said. “I have never heard him say a negative thing. He’s the same person on and off the field every single day. God-fearing baller. That’s all he is.”

“That’s the preacher’s son. He ain’t doing nothing wrong,” Falcons wide receiver Drake London said. “And even if he was, I wouldn’t snitch on my boy.”

“I don’t think it’s too good to be true. I think it’s just who Bijan is,” guard Matthew Bergeron said.

“Always in a good mood, always a happy guy, man of faith. I’ve got no dirt,” Pinion said. “And he’s an incredible football player. I don’t think he knows how good he is at football. But, yeah, I got nothing. His only fault might be that he’s too nice. He’s an amazing human being.”

“He had a book fair, and I don’t think people even have those these days,” Falcons safety Jessie Bates said.

Tight end Kyle Pitts and quarterback Michael Penix Jr. were the only Falcons brave enough to stand up to this deluge of goodwill and offer up anything resembling a complaint.

“His musical taste is subpar, in my opinion,” Pitts said. “Some of his house music is good, but we’ll be listening to Rick Ross or Future, and he’ll put on NWA. It’s like, ‘How do you switch the vibe that quick?’ You have to keep the vibe going. It’s just totally different beats.”

Penix backed up Pitts’ opinion that he’d rather have someone else running the music in the locker room.

“I’m not going to say it’s bad. I guess it’s for his ear,” Penix said. “We have two different music styles. You might hear Miley Cyrus or something from him. You don’t know what you’re going to hear from B.”

Robinson pushed back against the complaints about his DJ skills.

“I think I play great music,” he said. “All Mike listens to is rap and trap. I mean, he wakes up and listens to Kodak Black on the way here. I play Tame Impala, and most of them are vibing to it. Mike comes in and says, ‘Turn this off.’”

Former Falcons coach Raheem Morris sided with Robinson in the music dispute.

“He’s actually got great musical tastes. Kyle probably just doesn’t appreciate his ability to be versatile,” Morris said. “His music is awesome. He’s come by the house and put me onto smooth music before. He actually has some old-school rap. He can read the room really well and play what you need to hear.”

“Good luck with the dirt,” Morris concluded.

Penix admits he can’t find a fault with Robinson outside of his playlist.

“Anytime you see him, he’s always got a smile on his face, encouraging the guys around him,” the quarterback said. “He wants to see everybody else be great. He’s a special guy. We’ve got who we say is the best player in the NFL, and he’s not walking around like that. He shows love for everybody. Whenever you have a humble guy who is also the best guy in the league, that’s rare.”

And real, according to everyone we could find.