Bijan Robinson clearly had time for Bracketology while Arthur Smith wouldn’t give him the ball

By most reasonable standards, Bijan Robinson's rookie season was a resounding success. He accumulated 1,463 yards from scrimmage, scored eight total touchdowns, and functioned as the most reliable cog in the Atlanta Falcons' offense.

The only problem — aside from the relentless mediocrity of Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke under center — was Robinson's lack of touches. He could've been even better, but Atlanta forced him into a frustratingly even timeshare with Tyler Allegier and Cordarelle Patterson.

Both Allegier and Patterson are fine RBs, but the Falcons burned the No. 8 overall pick on Robinson, a bell-cow back from Texas. With how the league currently values RBs, it is virtually unheard of to select one top-10. Atlanta defied common sense in hopes of Robinson's electric playmaking ability opening up the offense. And then, Arthur Smith treated him like a tired vet the Falcons landed in free agency.

During all that time ball-watching instead of ball-carrying, it certainly seems like Robinson was sharpening his mind and honing in on a very particular set of skills — those of a bracketologist.

Every March, experts convene to tell us how to pick our brackets. Maybe instead of Joe Lundari or KenPom, we need to be paying attention to the Falcons' sophomore running back. Robinson has one of the exceedingly few perfect brackets left.

Falcons' Bijan Robinson has perfect March Madness bracket (so far)

Robinson picked Texas to win the championship game, for obvious reasons. That could come back to bite him. But, as of now, he's sitting pretty. We will see how the rest of Robinson's bold picks play out, but a brief look at the remainder of the opening night schedule — Kansas beating Samford, Tennessee beating St. Peter's, N.C. State beating Texas Tech — shows that Robinson has a real chance to remain perfect through all of day one.

That alone is an impressive accomplishment. My bracket was taken out back and shot by the Kentucky Wildcats. Samford was my sneaky Elite Eight pick, which ain't looking too hot either. Maybe I should've been shadowing Bijan all season. Instead of watching game tape on the iPad mid-game, he was studying his college hoops.

Robinson's more brave selections, such as Western Kentucky over Marquette, could be his undoing. Or, they could be what sets him apart from the crowd. Every year, "experts" fall victim to upsets nobody sees coming. For all we know, Robinson is a mid-major hoops fiend.

Just know we — and the entire nation — will watch with bated breath as Robinson chases history.