Breece Hall

New York Jets running back Breece Hall will miss Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins due to a knee injury. Hall, who suffered a hyperextension and MCL issue in his surgically repaired left knee during Week 11 against Indianapolis, has been dealing with the injury since the Jets’ bye week. While Hall played in last week’s game against the Seahawks despite being limited in practice, the team has decided to hold him out for the Dolphins matchup to ensure his long-term recovery.

With Hall sidelined, rookie Braelon Allen is expected to take over as the starting running back. Allen, a promising prospect, will lead the backfield in Hall’s absence. Additionally, fellow rookies Isaiah Davis and Kene Nwangwu are poised to see increased roles. Davis, who scored his first NFL touchdown in the Jets’ win over Seattle, could see more touches.

Hall’s absence is a significant blow to the Jets’ offense, but the team will rely on its depth to carry the load as they look to stay in the playoff hunt.

-Sagar

After a loss to the Vikings in London on Sunday, the Jets owner, Woody Johnson, has decided that the franchise is moving in a different direction, after Saleh’s 20-36 record in 5 years. Defensive Coordinator, Jeff Ulbrich, will be the interim head coach.

The impact of this fantasy-wise is hard to know, considering Saleh was a defensive-minded head coach. Nate Hackett is still the OC (for now), and they still have 40-year-old Aaron Rodgers at the reins. The offensive output in the last 5 games to start the season has produced similar results as last year, so this firing makes little sense this early in the season with their “new” QB.

Watch for any news of Hackett’s firing, as that will have a direct impact on the skill players involved. The Jets’ defense, which has performed fairly well this year, despite key injuries, may take a slight hit from Saleh’s departure.

It appears that rookie running back Braelon Allen is already turning heads at Jets camp. Allen was drafted in the fourth round in April, along with Isaiah Davis who was selected in the fifth round. Allen is a big back who can break tackles leading to plenty of yards after contact and normally converts on short-yardage situations.

In Wisconsin, Allen was a workhorse who rushed 597 times for 3,494 yards, and 35 touchdowns. Even with his size, the running back was also effective in the receiving game by bringing in 49 receptions for 275 yards in three seasons with the Badgers. Allen was the 11th running back taken in the draft.

The depth chart behind Breece Hall is in disarray and Allen is seizing the opportunity early on. With the emergence of Allen and Davis also in town, Israel Abanikanda has seen himself free fall down the depth chart. For now, Allen should be drafted in the second round of rookie drafts and can be taken as a flier later in re-drafts since he is the leading candidate to be Hall’s handcuff.

In a bout of good news for the Jets, Robert Saleh told reporters Breece Hall’s absence from practice was purely a maintenance day and he will play Week 1.  Both Breece Hall and newly acquired free agent RB Dalvin Cook will see work against the Bills. The head coach didn’t go into specific detail but did say the Jets would be “smart with Hall in his return”, per Ian Rappaport.

Consider both Jet running backs as fantasy RB2s. Dalvin Cook projects to have a lower ceiling and higher floor despite touchdown equity, with Hall needing to thrive on efficiency. That said, if Breece Hall is in fact game-ready and in line to split touches at full strength, he can explode. The former 36th overall pick posted top-5 metrics among all RBs on both sides of the offense last year in Yards Per Attempt (5.8), Yards After Contact Per Attempt (4.12), EPA/Rush (0.15), Explosive Rush Rate (15.0%), Target Per Route (28.7%), Yards Per Route (2.02), and Yards Per Reception (11.5).