Is Bijan a great player? No doubt, but so was Zeke.

Running backs have a short shelf life in the NFL. Zeke and his agent knew that. They knew he was a valuable cog in the offense and had more leverage while still on his rookie contract than he would have if he waited.

He held out for his big payday and got what he wanted, early! After he held out and got paid the expected decline played out.

If you are an agent and your client is a running back taken in the 1st round and establishes himself by year 3 as a key piece in the offense of a competitive playoff team, do you let your client play out to that 5th year? Or do you follow the winning template proven by Zeke (and get your big payday early) by holding out?

We were stuck over-paying for Zeke’s declining production.

What’s to stop that scenario from playing out again?