JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – He’s been the brightest spot in a mundane start to the season for the Jaguars. An undrafted rookie from a small school who has burst onto the scene and surprised everyone. Thursday, running back James Robinson gained national attention earning the NFL’s offensive rookie of the month award.
Robinson became the starter for the Jaguars after the team waived Leonard Fournette. Since then all he has done is get off to the best start of any offensive player in franchise history. His 339 yards from scrimmage are the most in the first three games of a career for any Jacksonville player ever.
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Robinson remains low-key about his success, including Thursday’s honor.
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool. I mean I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t, but coming in today, I didn’t think anything of it,” Robinson said. “I just kind of go about how I go about my day every day and it just came up. It was just kind of a surprise to me because I didn’t know about it at all. It is cool though.”
Offensive coordinator Jay Gruden called Robinson the team’s best player in the Week 3 loss to Miami, but he wants to see Robinson sustain his high level of play.
“He was excellent in the passing game. He was great in protection. Obviously running the football, he had two touchdowns and some nice hits. So he’s been everything we hoped he would be,” Gruden said. “But playing in the National Football League, it’s about consistency and doing it week in and week out. But obviously, for us to be good, he has to have big production, both in the running game, in protection, and in the pass game. He’s everything we thought he might be, but he has to continue to keep it up because we are going to rely on him in a big way moving forward.”
Robinson ranks 11th in the NFL in rushing yards and is only one touchdown behind the league leaders. Averaging just under five yards per carry, as he is now, will make you a household name in a hurry.
Robinson’s plans for the rest of the season mirror his approach to running the football: “Make an impact and keep going forward. That’s it.”