Braelon Allen finally looks ready to deliver on the Jets breakout hype

During Friday night's preseason opener, several New York Jets players made their long-awaited return to the football field. Garrett Wilson, for example, caught his first pass since October 12 of last year after missing over half of the 2025 season.

Another Jet who made his return last night was running back Braelon Allen. The third-year veteran came in with New York's second team and almost immediately made his presence felt.

The 22-year-old running back had four carries for 44 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown scamper that would end up being the Jets' only score of the evening. It was an impressive return to action for Allen, who lost nearly his entire sophomore season due to a left knee MCL sprain suffered on a kick return against the Miami Dolphins in Week 4 of the 2025 season.

Allen has always had a lot of hype surrounding him since entering the league, and for good reason. He's built like a truck and is the youngest player in NFL history to score a touchdown in a regular-season game. It's starting to feel like 2026 is the season he finally lives up to that hype.

New York Jets should be excited about Braelon Allen's potential in 2026

Allen only got work with the Jets' second-stringers on Friday night, but that doesn't mean he won't see a decent-sized role in 2026. He's likely to serve as the main complementary piece behind starting running back Breece Hall.

Aaron Glenn waxed poetic about Allen in his post-game press conference following the preseason opener.

"Love the fact that Braelon came back and had the explosive run... man he is fully back. His ability to press the hole, put his foot in the ground, and get vertical, and then run away from people. The speed that he's always had, now that really showed up. It's really good to see, I'm happy for him, I'm proud of him."

Allen's potential has always tantalized Jets fans. His traits and tools have been highly touted since his days at Wisconsin, and he's always seemed destined for an NFL breakout.

That breakout has yet to come, but 2026 could be that season. Despite not being the lead back in New York's offense, Allen should see plenty of opportunities when Hall needs a breather.

His bruising running style should complement Hall's shiftiness well and give the Jets a two-pronged attack on the ground to terrorize opposing defenses.

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