NFL award voters should be embarrassed by egregious Breece Hall snub

NY Jets running back Breece Hall tore his ACL in October of 2022. He returned to the field less than 12 months later and went on to finish with 994 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground, adding an additional 76 catches for 591 yards and four touchdowns in the air.

Hall finished the season ranked fourth among all players in the NFL in total scrimmage yards. The only three players to record more scrimmage yards in 2023 — Tyreek Hill, Christian McCaffrey, and CeeDee Lamb — are all finalists for Offensive Player of the Year.

Logic would dictate that Hall would also be in consideration for that award. Of course, it's hard to receive positive media attention when you're part of the 31st-ranked offense in the NFL, so it should come as no surprise that Hall isn't a finalist alongside his fellow offensive superstars.

That's fine, though. What Hall accomplished in 2023 is so much more impressive when you consider the fact that he had to come back from a torn ACL in less than a full calendar year.

Surely, that must mean he's a favorite for Comeback Player of the Year then, right? After all, Hall's 2023 season is probably the best running back season by a player coming off a torn ACL since Adrian Peterson in 2012. Peterson won MVP that year.

But no, Hall isn't a favorite for Comeback Player of the Year. He isn't even a finalist. Make it make sense.

Breece Hall was snubbed in Comeback Player of the Year voting

Hall is the only player in the NFL to finish in the top seven in scrimmage yards not to make the Pro Bowl. He's the only player in the top four in scrimmage yards not to be a finalist for Offensive Player of the Year.

Despite leading all running backs in catches and receiving yards and averaging 4.5 yards per carry behind likely the worst offensive line in football, Hall has received approximately zero recognition for his dominant 2023 performance.

No award consideration. No all-star game appearances. No media attention. Nothing.

You can count on one hand the number of players in NFL history who have returned from a serious leg injury to play at the level Hall was at in 2023. What Hall accomplished this past season was downright historic in NFL terms.

But he's a running back in a bad offense who plays for a losing team. That doesn't sell as easily as the quarterback of a playoff team.

Breece Hall's historic 2023 season is clouded by a haze of losing and offensive ineptitude, and the NFL award voters made little effort to see beyond their immediate vision.