Aaron Glenn didn’t leave much room for guessing on Monday. When asked about Braelon Allen’s strong run as the Jets’ lead back, the head coach made it clear that Breece Hall is still the guy at the top of the depth chart once he’s healthy again.
Hall has been sidelined with a quad injury since New York’s Week 3 loss to the Detroit Lions, and Allen has taken the opening and run with it. He handled the starter’s job again on Sunday against the New England Patriots, carrying 17 times for 78 yards and averaging 4.6 yards per rush. The Jets even seemed to drift away from him after halftime, which limited him to only five carries in the second half.
Over the last three games, Allen has built a real case that he can carry a backfield. He has 55 carries for 253 yards and one touchdown during that stretch, production that has taken him far beyond the profile of a temporary fill-in. Even when Hall returns, Allen’s workload figures to remain significant.
Still, Glenn drew the line plainly in his Monday morning press conference.
"He's shown that he has the capability of being the bell cow, and it's good to have another guy on our team, especially when Breece comes back, that can actually handle the load like that, 'cause now you can share those responsibilities... knowing that Breece is our starter."
That’s the key piece of this whole situation: Glenn sees Allen as a legitimate piece of the offense, but not as the player who has passed Hall on the depth chart. The bigger question is how the carries get divided, not whether Hall gets his job back.
And while Hall remains entrenched as the starter in Glenn’s eyes, Allen’s three-game stretch has outpaced Hall’s early-season work by a wide margin. Hall has 51 carries for 163 yards in his three starts, averaging 3.2 yards per carry. Most of that damage came in Week 1 against the Tennessee Titans, when he rushed for 102 yards.
In Other News...
Jets Offense Has One Obvious Problem After Patriots Loss
The Jets offense spent another Sunday looking constrained in the 26-19 loss to New England, and the missing element was easy to spot. Without Adonai Mitchell stretching the field, the passing game has lacked the kind of vertical threat that can force defenses to back off, leaving offensive coordinator Frank Reich to work with a narrower menu of options than he probably wanted in Week 6.
Mitchells absence has now become a real part of the conversation around why the unit has been less effective lately, because his speed and downfield presence were supposed to open things up for everyone else. Until he gets back into the lineup, the Jets are left trying to manufacture explosive plays without the receiver who most naturally changes the geometry of the offense. [Read more 🡒]
Braelon Allen Just Put Jets Coaches Under A Harsh Spotlight
After the loss to the Patriots, Braelon Allen did not sound interested in softening the message around the Jets offense. The second-year running back said the group needs to stop playing against itself, a blunt assessment after a game in which he was one of the few bright spots. Allen finished with 104 total yards on 19 touches, including work both as a runner and a receiver, while rookie Omar Cooper Jr. posted his first 100-yard game.
For a team that has stumbled to a 2-4 start, comments like that only sharpen the attention on Aaron Glenn and Frank Reich. The Jets have spent much of the early season trying to find offensive rhythm and consistency, and Allens frustration underscored how uneven it still looks when the pressure ramps up. If the offense is already being called out from inside the locker room, the coaching staff is staring at a problem that goes well beyond one loss. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Could Not Afford Garrett Wilson's Quietest Role Yet
Garrett Wilson was on the field, but for much of Sunday night he was not much of a factor in the Jets offense. In a 26-19 loss to the Patriots, the wide receiver finished with four catches for 44 yards on six targets, a quiet showing for one of the teams most important playmakers.
What stood out even more was how little Wilson was involved early, when the game was still there to be won. Afterward, he addressed his limited role, a familiar frustration for a Jets offense that could not afford to leave one of its top weapons on the margins for long. [Read more 🡒]