Bijan Robinson Played 'Everywhere' in 1st Falcons Practice; Spent Time at RB and WR

The Atlanta Falcons used Friday's rookie minicamp to test out No. 8 pick Bijan Robinson in multiple positions, including at wide receiver.

"[Head coach Arthur Smith] uses me everywhere, from receiver to running back," Robinson said Friday, per ESPN's Harry Lyles Jr. "He lets me do my abilities and skill set the right way, whether it's catching the ball, running routes, obviously running the football, blocking and doing it all."

The former University of Texas running back also said he had FaceTimed with Tyler Allgeier, the 2022 fifth-round pick who led the Falcons with 1,035 rushing yards last season.

"It was all love from the start," Robinson said. "I was just like, 'Yo, bro, like, I'm just happy to be here. Happy to get to work with you and kind of pick your brain on certain things and be a guy that will just compete, and we'll both have fun in that offense.'"

Robinson won the Doak Walker Award as the top running back in college football in 2022 after racking up 1,580 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns.

Robinson will go down as one of the best running backs in Longhorns history. But Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian told NBC Sports' Peter King that Robinson could develop into a slot receiver in the NFL.

"I probably made a couple of receivers on our team mad last season, but he had the best hands on our team," Sarkisian said.

Given how much contact running backs absorb, few players at the position remain elite for long. One example is the Dallas Cowboys' Ezekiel Elliott, who went from signing a six-year, $90 million contract in 2019 to being cut less than four years later.

Using Robinson at different positions could help the Falcons to get the most value out of his four-year, $22 million contract.