If you followed the New York Jets this offseason then it was no secret that Breece Hall was going to be one of the focal points, if not the focal point, of the 2024 Jets offense. Indeed, head coach Robert Saleh even went as far as to call Hall a “bellcow” back just a few months ago, which is notable in a league that largely operates with a “running back by committee” approach.
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#Jets HC Robert Saleh on Breece Hall’s expected workload, after drafting two RBs:
“Breece is the unquestioned bellcow, but even then, you’re still talking 20, 25 touches.”
Saleh has a 45% reliability rating on usage/workload coachspeak pic.twitter.com/wA7vjzMXTU— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) May 3, 2024
However, like the end of this tweet implies, coaches don’t always tell the truth. Their actions typically do though.
With that said, Week 1 would give reason to believe that Saleh was telling the truth about this plan though, as Hall was essentially the only running back that the team used until garbage time.
Breece Hall's Week 1 usage before Aaron Rodgers got pulled:
— Scott Barrett (@ScottBarrettDFB) September 10, 2024
30 of 31 snaps (97%)
12 of 12 backfield carries (100%)
5 of 5 backfield targets (100%)
5 of 17 team targets (29%)
This was the 5th-most valuable usage (usage, not volume) of any RB in any week since the start of the…
For the Jets, this further emphasizes that the team does seem to be “all in.” Week 1 showed that the team was willing to use Breece as often as possible in order to draw the most value out of him, including using him as a runner, a pass catcher, and a pass blocker.
Additionally, if this trend holds, then it’s possible that Hall could achieve the most notable season for a Jets running back since Curtis Martin won the rushing title in 2004, positioning Hall’s usage and outputs as something worth monitoring as the season unfolds.
