Brian Robinson was a valuable fantasy asset last season, but that doesn't mean it wasn't confusing trying to figure out what Washington was doing on a weekly basis. It wasn't that they didn't seem committed to Brian Robinson; they just didn't seem committed to the run game ever. Maybe it was because the defense was just so bad at times that they were throwing it so much, but the inconsistency in the amount of touches Brian Robinson was getting was truly baffling.
Let me just read off the inconsistency in his rushing attempts to begin the season: four straight games with double-digit rushing attempts, and then out of nowhere, he only gets six rushing attempts. Then he gets 10, then eight, then 10, then 18, then eight, then 17, then 15, then seven—just up and down, up and down. There were weeks where they had a great matchup, and if Washington would have just run the football to begin the game, they could have kept the game close and really had a shot at winning. But far too often, Washington would come out and just start throwing the football all over the place. Sam Howell would have a couple of turnovers, and then the run game would just disappear.
I truly believe that Brian Robinson is Washington's best bet at establishing the run this season, and they need to do that with a rookie quarterback. Austin Ekeler is going to cause issues; he's going to see touches, and there are going to be weeks where Ekeler is just going to be utilized more than Brian Robinson. But Brian Robinson, to me, is a far safer bet. Austin Ekeler has definitely seen a drop in his efficiency over the last couple of years. He's not going to give you the same high-end RB1 production that we saw at times in Los Angeles.
We really need to be banking on Brian Robinson maybe not having the biggest ceiling in the world but having a far safer floor than Austin Ekeler every single week. Brian Robinson as my RB2? Not bad. But if you can get him as your RB3, you're golden.
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