Breece Hall and Braelon Allen
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New York Jets running backs Breece Hall and Braelon Allen.
Many believed the New York Jets had found their feature running back of the future after a breakout year in 2023. Fast forward to the week before the start of the 2025 NFL season and there is speculation that Hall could be dealt ahead of the trade deadline.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding his role entering his first year with new head coach Aaron Glenn, Hall has been named as the Jets ‘X Factor’ in 2025.
Jets RB Breece Hall Pinpointed as the ‘X Factor’ for the Franchise Entering the 2025 NFL Season
Benjamin Solak of ESPN sees the vision of what could be a great situation for Breece Hall to excel in this new look Jets’ offense in 2025.
“The Jets have made no secret of their intention to run the football as much as they can this season, and rightfully so,” wrote Solak. “They have a strong interior offensive line, a great rushing quarterback in Justin Fields, and a scary two-headed backfield between Hall and second-year pro Braelon Allen. That is if Hall can be the player he once was.”
On paper, the Jets could quietly have one of the better offensive lines in the league with a pair of first-round picks in Olu Fashanu and Armand Membou at tackle with Alijah Vera-Tucker, John Simpson, and Joe Tippmann forming a solid interior of the offensive line for Hall to run behind.
Solak added, “Hall averaged a screaming 5.8 yards per carry through seven weeks in 2022, his rookie season. An ACL and meniscus tear ended that campaign before we could find out if that number regressed to the mean. Since the injury, Hall has struggled to find explosives at nearly the same rate, but he should be afforded more space in a Fields backfield than he got from the Aaron Rodgers-authored offense that lacked creativity in the running game.”
Hall’s ACL injury back in 2022 abruptly ended an encouraging start to his NFL career, and has potentially sapped him of some of his explosive playmaking ability as a ball carrier.
Yet, Hall did rip off a 42-yard run last season and an 83-yard scamper less than a year removed from his torn ACL — which suggests he is still capable of generating explosive plays.
Hall could be running behind the best offensive line of his career while operating alongside a dynamic dual-threat quarterback in Justin Fields. If things go as planned, Hall could be in for a career year as a runner in 2025.
Could Breece Hall Lose the Lead Role to Braelon Allen in 2025?
Remember the trade speculation mentioned in the intro? Well, one reason why Hall has been mentioned as a potential trade candidate this offseason is because of Braelon Allen, who has been getting plenty of run with the starters this training camp and preseason.
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic even predicted that Hall wouldn’t lead the Jets in rushing in 2025.
“There’s an assumption that Breece Hall is the Jets’ top running back but when the games start and Aaron Glenn and Tanner Engstrand start divvying up the carries, I truly think at some point (perhaps early) Allen will become the predominant ball carrier in the running back room,” wrote Rosenblatt. “That’s not to say Hall’s role will diminish — he might be the Jets’ No. 2 option in the passing game at the moment — but Allen throughout the summer has looked like the better, stronger, more explosive runner.”
Hall will open the season with a sizeable role in the Jets’ backfield, but it definitely looks as if Allen will be regularly involved too.
Hall may have to quickly prove he is the best runner on the roster or could see his leading role in the Jets’ backfield diminish as the season progresses.