A lot of the excitement this year for Falcons fans is centered around running back Bijan Robinson. The shifty halfback was taken No. 8 overall at the 2023 draft out of Texas, giving Atlanta its presumed RB1 for the foreseeable future.
The Falcons faithful thought they would get to see Robinson in his first NFL game in Week 1 of the preseason, but the running back did not play in Atlanta's 19-3 win over Miami last week.
It wasn't a total shock, as none of the high-end starters for the Falcons saw any playing time. In addition to Robinson, Tyler Allgeier and Cordarelle Patterson also sat out of action, leaving the running back duties to Godwin Igwebuike and Carlos Washington Jr.
POWER RANKINGS: Where Falcons rank among NFL's best teams for 2023
Here is the latest on Robinson's status for the Week 2 preseason game against the Bengals.
Is Bijan Robinson playing vs. Bengals?
The wait is over: Robinson is expected to start against the Bengals on Friday night.
Falcons coach Arthur Smith confirmed that Robinson, along with some of the other offensive starters, will get into action during Week 2 of the preseason.
"We’re not going to go crazy," Smith said. "We just need the reps. We need to get our bread-and-butter concepts in there and he'll see his tracks. We're not going to sit there and show everything but we need to execute well."
"I'm really excited," Robinson said. "Shoot, even last week, it was super fun just to support my teammates and be the best teammate I can be."
Falcons RB depth chart
The fact that Robinson is being included in the "starting" group on offense is a good sign for what to expect at the beginning of the regular season.
Robinson's perceived spot on the Falcons' depth chart raised eyebrows last week when the No. 8 pick was listed as the third-string running back on Atlanta's first unofficial depth chart.
Below is a look at their five-man unit, per the team's official website.
| Rank | Player |
| 1 | Cordarrelle Patterson |
| 2 | Tyler Allgeier |
| 3 | Bijan Robinson |
| 4 | Carlos Washington Jr. |
| 5 | Godwin Igwebuike |
During the preseason, teams don't like to give away any game plans, typically resulting in less-than-accurate depth charts being initially released.
So don't be surprised to see Robinson's name at the top of the depth chart by the start of the regular season.
