Bijan Robinson opens up on pressure of wearing Michael Vick's number 7 jersey with Falcons - "I looked at it biblically"
By choosing to wear number 7, newly-minted Atlanta Falcon Bijan Robinson is putting immense pressure on himself immediately.
That number was once worn by polarizing franchise quarterback Michael Vick, who is known for two things: 1) popularizing the trend of mobile quarterbacks who are as good at rushing as they are at passing and 2) being implicated in a dog-fighting scandal that netted him two years in jail and permanently tarnished his image.
But Robinson is not intimidated by the implications of wearing such an iconic number. Speaking on Tyreek Hill's podcast It Needed to be Said, he said:
"So (head) Coach (Arthur) Smith asked Michael Vick if I could wear the number. And he (Vick) said yeah, like he was very excited for me to be in the number. I asked (Falcons kicker) Younghoe Koo (who had been wearing the number since 2019), and he was super cool with it off the bat.
"... Seven would actually be pretty dope to be another playmaker on the offense and a playmaker when I wear that number since him. And for me, I looked at it in a different way, obviously, like my faith, so I looked at it biblically, and the number of completion. So that's why I like number seven a lot, like 'That's the number Atlanta loves to wear.'"
What can fans expect from Bijan Robinson in his rookie season?
In the same episode, Bijan Robinson was also asked about his goals as a newcomer in the NFL. He outlined them as follows:
"So my goals for myself, obviously just like getting the playbook down to a T. Still just working on it, still just trying to perfect it and everything that I need to know - how I can affect the offense, how I can affect the team.
"I think the team goal, obviously, you want to win the Super Bowl - to be a part of that, that's like, the biggest thing. And then I think that if I have the foundation set, that's when you're in talks of what you want to become - Rookie of the Year, (Offensive Player of the Year)..."
He also opined about whether the NCAA should reinstate Reggie Bush as a Heisman winner:
"Absolutely. I mean, you can't take away what he did on the field. Everybody knows what he did."