Will Anderson Calls Bijan Robinson Toughest Player He’s Faced

Will Anderson Calls Bijan Robinson Toughest Player He’s Faced

Projected top-five pick Will Anderson Jr. of Alabama had high praise for fellow 2023 NFL Draft prospect Bijan Robinson.

Anderson called Robinson, Texas’ running back, the toughest player he faced in college football at the NFL Combine on Wednesday.

“He was a big back,” Anderson said in response to Delmarva Sports’ Kayla Santiago‘s question.

“We had to gang tackle him, we had to get all hats to the ball. He was gonna break a few tackles, we had to tackle the right way. He was probably the toughest player I played in college.”

Some might find it surprising that Anderson said this since he played in the SEC, which is always stacked with pristine NFL talent.

People forget that Texas nearly defeated Alabama way back in Week 2 of the college football season. If it weren’t for quarterback Quinn Ewers’s injury, there was a good chance that Texas does win that game. Robinson was productive in that game, posting 130 scrimmage yards and a rushing touchdown.

Robinson was pretty unstoppable in college football. The Tucson native has been one of my favorite athletes in this upcoming draft class.

While first-round running backs are a bit of a dying breed, Robinson is a prospect that is going against the trends, likely the first running back to be picked in the first round since 2021. He could even be a top-20 pick, depending on his Combine workouts and other factors.

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Robinson really cranked it up toward the end of the 2022 season. The back had at least 175 scrimmage yards in three of his last four games at Texas.

Anderson on the other hand posted 10 sacks in 2022. This is considered a “down year” as compared to his 2021 season, where he posted an absurd 17.5 sacks and 101 tackles.

There’s no doubt about Anderson’s skillset. He is considered to be a top-three prospect on most draft experts’ boards.

Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports has Anderson going fourth overall to the Chicago Bears in his mock draft, the first non-quarterback taken. The Bears would only get this pick however if they swap picks with the Colts, one of the most highly rumored trades of this draft season.

In the same mock, Trapasso has Robinson landing at 29th overall to the New Orleans Saints.

Robinson and Anderson are two of the most highly touted prospects of this draft season, and there is clearly mutual respect between the two.

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