The Jets are trying to squeeze more out of an offense that has spent years stuck below average, and that puts a spotlight on two young running backs who haven’t quite broken through yet.
Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis are back in the mix behind Breece Hall, who signed a three-year, $43.5 million extension in May. The opportunity is there, but so is the pressure. Both backs were drafted in back-to-back rounds in 2024 - Allen in the fourth, Davis in the fifth - and neither has turned that draft capital into a real foothold.
Allen arrived with plenty of college production on his résumé, including three straight second-team All-Big Ten honors at Wisconsin. Davis came in after earning first-team FCS All-American recognition at South Dakota State in 2023.
But the NFL has been a tougher climb. Allen averaged just 3.6 yards per carry for 334 rushing yards in 2024 and added 148 receiving yards on 19 catches before a season-ending MCL injury limited him to four games last season.
Davis has been more durable, missing only one game across two seasons, but his totals are still modest: 410 rushing yards and 261 receiving yards. The efficiency has been better, though, with averages of 5.6 yards per carry and 8.7 yards per reception.
That lack of production doesn’t tell the whole story. Backup running backs don’t get endless chances, especially in an offense that hasn’t exactly been lighting it up.
Allen’s injury only made the path harder. Still, the clock is ticking.
Both players have two years left on their contracts, and they need to show enough now to make themselves part of the long-term plan.
One thing that should help them: the quarterback rushing load looks very different now. Last season, Justin Fields ate into those opportunities, finishing second on the team with 383 rushing yards on 71 carries in nine games. The Jets have since traded Fields to the Kansas City Chiefs and brought in Geno Smith, who had just 41 carries over 15 games for the Las Vegas Raiders last season.
That shift opens a lane for Allen and Davis to claim more of the backfield work behind Hall. If either can get to at least four yards per carry and handle the ball a few times each game next season, they’ll have a real shot at carving out a future in New York alongside Hall and Garrett Wilson.
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Klubnik is expected to make the 53-man roster, which gives him a built-in edge as the team sorts out the depth chart. Aaron Glenn has said the rookie will get every opportunity to win the job, while Zappe, who arrived on a futures contract, is the more movable piece if the competition breaks the other way and the Jets decide the safest path is to keep him around on the practice squad. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Fans May Be Watching The Wrong SEC Quarterback Again
Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss is starting to draw real NFL attention, and the conversation around him has quickly moved beyond simple curiosity. For Jets fans, that alone is enough to bring back familiar draft-season nerves, especially with another SEC passer entering the picture as a possible future answer at the most important position on the field.
The intrigue is obvious, but so are the questions that come with it. Chambliss has the kind of profile that can push a quarterback into the first-round conversation if the momentum keeps building, yet there is also real hesitation about how teams should value him so early. For the Jets, the idea is less about forcing a decision now and more about whether this is another quarterback worth tracking closely as the draft picture starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]