The 2024 NFL season was supposed to be a breakout year for New York Jets running back Breece Hall. Future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers was finally back from injury, and his passing prowess was supposed to open up the running game for Hall and give him opportunities to run out the clock in dominant wins.
Instead, the Jets fell flat on their faces. Nearly everyone regressed, former head coach Robert Saleh was fired, and the team limped to a 5-12 finish. With a new regime in place, significant roster turnover was expected and fans and analysts across the NFL world pegged Hall as a prime trade candidate.
Instead, new head coach Aaron Glenn gave Hall a phone call and assured him that he was their running back going forward.
With his fears of being sent to a new team in a new city, Hall can focus solely on improving on a disappointing 2024 campaign. He has no real competition to threaten his spot as RB1; second-year player Braelon Allen is frequently listed as an up-and-comer, but barring a quantum leap in his development, Hall should still get the lion’s share of the snaps.
Other things work in Hall’s favor, too. An improved offensive line will be key to opening up more running lanes for Hall, and even the acquisition of quarterback Justin Fields will likely prove to be a tremendous boost. Fields is one of the league’s best rushing quarterbacks and his highlight reel is full of jaw-dropping touchdown runs from forty yards, fifty yards, even sixty yards out. Defenses have to respect the threat he poses as a runner, especially in play-action. This hesitance to charge right at the running back should give Hall an extra second after a handoff to get moving and hit the open hole.
Fields himself is glad to have Hall behind him. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Fields said, “Of course, everybody knows he can run. But what kind of surprised me is his natural hands when I first started throwing with him. I mean, he has natural hands, kind of like a receiver, and he’s really just an all-around back. So definitely glad to have him on my team.”
Everyone on this team, including Hall and Fields, still have to prove themselves on the field in September. But excitement is building around this team for good reason. If they can all pull together, this should be one of the best Jets teams in recent memory.
