Jets may regret doing nothing about Breece Hall-Braelon Allen backfield at trade deadline

The New York Jets stood pat at the NFL's trade deadline, to the dismay of some fans. It felt like they were primed to make a move with the likes of Nahshon Wright or Will McDonald, getting back some assets in the midst of another lost season.

But another deal that some fans were likely holding their breath and crossing their fingers for leading up to 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday was a trade for running back Breece Hall. No disrespect to the Jets' starting running back, but with the way Braelon Allen had been running in his absence, some felt he deserved the bell cow job.

Instead, the Jets are keeping their two-pronged approach in the backfield, despite its ineffectiveness this past weekend when they took on the Kansas City Chiefs.

Part of that can be chalked up to the fact that the game script got out of hand, forcing the Jets to go to their drop-back passing game for most of the second half. But is there also something to be said about not allowing either running back to get the hot hand with split touches?

New York Jets may regret not shaking up their backfield with a deadline trade

No one was pleased when Hall exited the lineup in Week 3 with a quad injury against the Detroit Lions, but when Allen emerged over the next few weeks as one of the best running backs in football in a starting role, it was hard not to be excited.

From Week 4 to Week 8, Allen averaged 5.4 yards per carry, rushing for 504 yards on 93 carries. It's clear that the third-year running back is a rhythm runner and only gets better the more touches he gets and the longer the game goes on.

In Week 9, Allen received only eight carries and turned them into 33 yards. Yes, he had an ill-timed fumble, but you could make the case that he was unable to get into a groove with his less-than-ideal workload.

Hall, on the other hand, ran for 61 yards on 15 carries, which is fine, but not nearly as good as what Allen was able to do with a double-digit touch workload throughout October.

The Jets may have been better off selling Hall at the trade deadline, getting out from under his three-year contract, and giving Allen the full-time duties as New York's lead back, a role he filled quite well in the absence of his teammate.

There's still time this year for the Jets to flip this script and find a way to get both these guys going in a dual role, but right now, it feels like they missed out on a prime opportunity.

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