Mel Kiper Jr. projects Bijan Robinson to Dallas in most recent mock draft
Mock draft season is underway ahead of the 2023 NFL draft, and many first-round predictions include Texas All-American running back Bijan Robinson. In his most recent first-round mock, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. predicted a team that many Longhorn fans love (or maybe hate) would select Robinson, the 2022 Doak Walker Award winner.
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Kiper mocked Robinson to the Dallas Cowboys at pick No. 26.
“This just makes sense, right?” Kiper Jr. wrote. “Team owner Jerry Jones loves star running backs, going back to his days of drafting Emmitt Smith in Round 1 in 1990, and he repeatedly has said Ezekiel Elliott is the Cowboys’ most important player. Well, Elliott could be a salary-cap casualty this offseason, and Tony Pollard — who made the Pro Bowl this season — broke his left leg in the divisional round and is a free agent.”
“Could Jones and the Cowboys start over and take Robinson, the best back in this class, here? Robinson also is a great pass-catcher, so he’s more than just a between-the-tackles runner. He could also take some of the pressure off quarterback Dak Prescott.”
Kiper Jr. said he considered mocking a defensive tackle to the Cowboys for their late first-round pick, with Clemson’s Bryan Bresee and Michigan’s Mazi Smith as two possible options.
Dallas has taken 11 Longhorns in the history of the franchise. The first was Don Talbert in the 1961 draft, and the most recent was Connor Williams in the 2018 draft. Other picks include Bob Moses, Tommy Lucas, Scott Appleton, Bryan Chester, Chris Duliban, Everett Gay, Jeff Ward, Wane McGarity, and Geoff Swaim.
Robinson is looking to become the first Longhorn taken in the first round since Malcom Brown in 2015, and the first Texas offensive player to be picked in the first 32 picks since Vince Young in 2006.
