Jets RB Braelon Allen
Getty
Entering year two on the job, could Jets RB Braelon Allen have a breakout campaign?
With the 2025-26 season on the horizon, each NFL club will quickly identify a player or two who produces at a level higher than most expected. The New York Jets have plenty of potential names to enter there, but one specific offensive player is standing out as August rolls on.
In a story for Bleacher Report, Moe Moton listed six players whose preseasons indicate they could break out over the next handful of months. New York running back Braelon Allen made the cut thanks to his performance.
Analyst Believes Braelon Allen Could Have Big Sophomore Campaign
Moton believes if Allen’s skill set is truly put to good use, it’ll be because the Jets adopt something their new offensive coordinator is familiar with.
“In two preseason outings, Allen registered 15 carries for 67 yards,” Moton wrote. “He broke off 11-plus-yard gains in both games, showing his big-play ability. At 6’1”, 235 pounds, the Wisconsin product has the size to take on short-yardage opportunities. In Week 2 against the New York Giants, he converted 4th-and-1 and 3rd-and-1 situations into first downs. If offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand operates a run-heavy system that resembles the one of his former team, the Detroit Lions, Allen could fill a role similar to David Montgomery, who’s averaging 14.4 carries per game and 4.4 rushing yards per attempt in the Motor City.”
Allen, a fourth-round pick last year, played in all 17 games as a rookie. On 283 offensive snaps, he recorded 92 carries for 334 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The Wisconsin product also added 19 receptions on 27 targets for 148 yards and another score. It wasn’t a crazy-good debut campaign, but Allen did manage to deliver some nice performances. Week 3 (11 carries for 55 yards) may have been his best.
Given his athletic profile, Allen does compare favorably to someone like Montgomery. With that said, the former came into the NFL a couple of inches taller and more than 10 pounds heavier. His blend of build, contact balance, short-area burst and aggression is hard to beat.
A season ago, Detroit’s featured back was the speedy Jahmyr Gibbs. He recorded 250 carries, good for just under 47% of the offense’s overall total. Montgomery got a healthy workload, however, adding 185 tries of his own (35%). If Allen were to be given that runway, could he replicate Montgomery’s 775 yards and 12 touchdowns?
Run-Heavy Offense Should Work in Jets’ Favor in 2025
Perhaps, but that’s the tricky part. It seems unlikely that Allen will be fortunate enough to run the ball that much barring an injury to starter Breece Hall. After all, Hall is a capable rushing threat in his own right. In three seasons, he’s appeared in 40 games and averaged 4.6 yards per carry en route to 2,333 yards and 14 touchdowns overall.
Head coach Aaron Glenn’s plans must also be taken into account. On one hand, he’s gone on record numerous times emphasizing that he wants to use each of his three halfbacks. That includes Hall, Allen and Isaiah Davis, who went just one round after Allen last April. Another factor in play is Hall’s supreme ability as a pass-catching back. Glenn has high hopes for that area of Hall’s game as he looks to earn a significant raise next offseason.
Lastly, of course, there’s a new quarterback in town. The Jets don’t project to be as pass-happy with Justin Fields under center as they were with Aaron Rodgers. Fields’ single-season career high for pass attempts is 370; Rodgers had more than that before 2024’s Week 12 bye. Running is a staple of Fields’ game, as evidenced by his 418 combined attempts in just four seasons. That proclivity for tucking the rock will eat into carries for Hall and, surely, Allen.
Multiple things can be true here. Allen is, without a doubt, a fun building block and a nice complement to Hall in the running back room. He’s also probably not going to set the football world on fire in year two, which isn’t a knock on his talent.