Breece Hall’s disappointing start has reignited Jets trade rumors

During the offseason and throughout training camp, there were rumblings that star running back Breece Hall was not long for the New York Jets. Head coach Aaron Glenn protested, stating that he wanted to use all three of his good running backs this season, but the fact remained that Hall was in the last year of his deal and was unlikely to be re-upped.

In the modern NFL, only the most electric and explosive running backs are rewarded with lucrative extensions, and Hall certainly looked that part during his incredible rookie season, which was cut short by a torn ACL after just seven games.

In the two years that followed, there were flashes and moments that brought back visions of a special running back, but they were too infrequent to believe that Hall could maintain that level of production, and less so as he aged and the rigors of a bellcow workload took their toll.

This was particularly apparent last season, when his vaunted hands failed him, leading to six fumbles and eight dropped passes. Moreover, the breakaway speed that Hall had shown in the past seemed to be gone. He lacked the extra gear to run away from the defense, often getting caught from behind in the open field.

Week 1's performance showed the Hall of old, however, leading to some reconsideration of his status as a trade candidate. Against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Hall's 5.6 yards per carry and 19 yards per reception showed the explosion of his early days, but just as quickly as that game-breaking talent appeared, it would disappear in his follow-up performances.

Breece Hall might find himself back in Jets trade rumors

The stat line hasn't been pretty for Hall in the matchups against the Buffalo Bills and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Iowa State product rushed 10 times for 29 yards and added two catches for nine yards in the loss to the Bills. He followed that up with nine carries for 21 yards and four catches for 31 yards against Tampa. 17 of his 21 rushing yards came on one carry.

At first glance, it would be easy to blame the offensive line for Hall's struggles. Both Buffalo and Pittsburgh have talented fronts, though both were missing key cogs in Ed Oliver for Buffalo and Calijah Kancey for Tampa. However, Hall's backup, Braelon Allen, managed 5.5 and 5.0 yards per carry in his limited duty in Week 2 and Week 3, respectively.

Instead, there's a lot more going on beneath the surface. Per NFL Next Gen Stats, Hall is averaging -0.1 yards over expected per attempt through the first three weeks of the season, meaning he's gaining a tenth of a yard less than what he should based on the quality of the blocking provided for him.

Per PFF's elusiveness rating, a proprietary metric that measures a ball carrier's success and impact regardless of the quality of his blocking, Hall comes in at a 26.5 mark, ranking 47th out of 59 backs with at least 20 carries through the first three weeks of the season.

During Hall's spectacular rookie showing, his elusiveness rating was a stellar 100.0, but fell to 79.9 in 2023, and then to 59.5 last year. A dip in his yards per carry coincided with that decline, falling from 5.8 in 2022 to 4.5 in 2023 to 4.2 in 2024, and now 4.1 so far in 2025.

Unsurprisingly, these stats also reflect Hall's ability to generate yards after contact. His average of 3.05 yards after contact per attempt this season ranks 23rd in the league. However, that is slightly misleading as it is inflated by his 4.74 yards after contact per attempt in Week 1, which then fell to 1.80 in Week 2, and then finally 0.89 in Week 3.

Even with his superb Week 1 showing, Hall is playing like an average running back, the type that will get the yardage their line provides them, but nothing more. Not only does that not bode well for an extension, or even remaining on the team beyond the trade deadline, but it's actively hurting Tanner Engstrand's offense.

There's a lot to criticize about Engstrand's performance as offensive coordinator so far, but one of the guiding principles of his game plan is to leverage the run game to open up the pass.

That means he needs Hall to be a special back who can create for himself, and therefore mask the deficiencies under center and out wide that exist on the roster.

Instead, Hall's middling performance has put a lot more weight on the shoulders of the Jets' quarterbacks, and a reliance on the wide receivers not named Garrett Wilson to consistently get open and make plays will lead to a lot of stalled drives.

Barring a swift turnaround, it would make sense for the Jets to move Hall for whatever assets they can get, especially as other teams suffer injuries and get desperate to add a potential playmaker. Simply put, if Hall is going to perform like an average running back, then he is easily replaced.

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