Falcons Robinson to Barkley: Less Leap, More Lead

Bijan Robinson is a professional running back for the Atlanta Falcons. But he’s also a fan of the game.

So when he witnessed fellow running back Saquon Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles leap backwards over a Jacksonville Jaguars defender during Week 9, he was in utter disbelief. That was the fan side of his personality.

But it apparently didn’t take long for the professional side of Robinson to also react to the move.

Robinson shared his entire reaction to the play while appearing as a guest on The Rich Eisen Show on Tuesday.

“When he did that, I was watching it, and at first I was like, ‘Ain’t no way that just happened,” Roinson told Eisen. “I was like, ‘That couldn’t have happened. He didn’t jump over him. He probably jumped on the side of him.’

“But then when I saw the replay, and he jumped completely over him, I was like, ‘Yeah, I gotta try this.'”

The backwards Saquon Barkley leap left a lot of NFL players and media in disbelief. That’s why we’re still talking about it more than a week later.

Whether Robinson could also jump backwards was one of the first questions Eisen asked the Falcons running back Tuesday.

Barkley’s Eagles teammates, players who see the running back on a daily basis, were as shocked as anyone after the backwards leap.

Robinson hasn’t been in the NFL as long, but he’s arguably just as talented and athletic as Barkley. The two running backs are both in the top 4 in yards from scrimmage heading into Week 11.

It would be utterly sweet to see Robinson pull off a similar backwards leap as Barkley.

From a practical standpoint, I wonder how someone like Robinson practices trying to do it. Will he ask Falcons teammates to stay after practice so he can simulate jumping over them backwards?

When will he know the time is right for such a move?

It’s difficult for me to comprehend how anyone will be able to replicate Barkley backwards leap. But that’s why I’m sitting at a desk while Barkley and Robinson make millions running on a field.

For someone with Robinson’s natural athletic ability, trying to emulate Barkley’s latest hurdle could come very, very naturally.