Bijan Robinson Is Making Impact 'Away from the Ball,' Falcons' Arthur Smith Says

Amid recent criticism about Bijan Robinson's usage, Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith praised what the rookie running back does for the offense when he's not a focal point of the offense.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Smith said Robinson's "impact away from the ball can open things up" for the offense at times.

"For any rookie, the seasons are long. You're going to have ebbs and flows," Smith added. We'll see how this second half of the season goes, but he's been a huge part of our offense and he'll continue to be."

One sequence in the second quarter of Sunday's game to the Minnesota Vikings really led to a lot of questions about what Smith is doing with Robinson.

The Falcons got the ball on Minnesota's one-yard line when Lorenzo Carter returned a fumble 19 yards after Arnold Ebiketie sacked Vikings quarterback Josh Dobbs.

A false start penalty by Chris Lindstrom on first down moved the ball back five yards, but Robinson didn't even get on the field when the Falcons needed six yards to get a touchdown.

The Falcons settled for a field and went on to lose the game by three points. Robinson isn't the only player that Smith tends to ignore for whatever reason during games.

There have been plenty of questions about the usage—or lack thereof—for Kyle Pitts and Drake London. Smith has downplayed it by saying that only fantasy players are keeping track of these things.

It is certainly alarming that Atlanta invested top-10 draft picks in each of the past three years in Pitts, London and Robinson, but the head coach doesn't seem to be making a point of spotlighting them.

Pitts and Jonnu Smith have played almost the same number of snaps this season. Smith has more receptions (34) and receiving yards (422) than Pitts. He's tied with London for the most receiving touchdowns on the team (two).

Robinson, who seemed like a natural fit for Smith's run-heavy offense, has 13 fewer carries than Tyler Allgeier (116 to 103). Robinson has been far more effective on a per-carry basis with 5.0 yards per attempt, compared to 3.2 for Allgeier.

The Falcons ranked 15th in points per game (21.5) last season. They are currently No. 25 in that category with 18.4 points per game through nine weeks.