It's late March, one month until the 2023 NFL draft, and Bijan Robinson is in South Philadelphia, tucked into an office in the Eagles' practice facility with one of his potential future bosses: Howie Roseman, the team's general manager. Robinson is the best running back in this year's draft -- the space between the former Longhorn and his peers is, conservatively, Texas-sized -- but Roseman has one request:

Pitch me, he says. Why do I need to take you at No. 10?

The question is expected; Robinson's rejoinder is not.

"You're not going to get a running back," says the most lauded running back prospect in years. "You're going to get a difference-maker."

It's clear Robinson has read the writing on the wall. It isn't so much writing as it is a billboard. A billboard with pulsating neon lights.

Robinson isn't just the premier (whispers) running back in this draft; he might be the best athlete in this draft, period. He isn't just the most electric (hushed tones again) running back in 2023; he is the most tantalizing prospect at the position since Saquon Barkley. Or is it Adrian Peterson? No matter, NFL brass and analysts and fanatics on message boards are name-dropping Robinson, at 21 years old, among the sport's heavyweights before he has even joined the league.

He is the best the draft has to offer -- this year, but in most years, too. He just won't be drafted like he is. No. 1 overall? Out of the question. Top 5? Slim-to-none odds. Top 20? Getting warmer. Out of the first round entirely? Unlikely, but not inconceivable, either. (Since the common draft era began in 1967, three drafts have featured zero running backs in the first round -- all in the past 10 years.)