The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt believes the Jets backfield "might be more 1A-1B than 1-2," referring to RBs Breece Hall and Braelon Allen. "This isn’t so much a knock on Hall as it is praise for Allen: The Jets are going to have a hard time keeping Allen off the field in 2025," Rosenblatt writes.
What They're Saying
More from Rosenblatt: "The second-year back looks bigger, faster and stronger. ... Allen has been one of the stars of camp so far, showing a level of explosiveness and downhill running ability the Jets have been lacking. He’s a legit threat in the passing game too, which should allow offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand to get creative — and Glenn has made it a point to say the Jets will use Hall much more as a receiver than they have in the past. Which means Allen and Hall could wind up on the field at the same time a decent amount.
HC Aaron Glenn: "Braelon is a 240-pound man that’s always falling forward,” Glenn said. “That’s where he’s going to make his money … it’s going to weigh on defensive players.”
2025 Fantasy Football Impact
This is not the first time we've heard buzz that Allen will play a significant role this year. Glenn said way back in March that he wanted to utilize three RBs (Hall, Allen, and Isaiah Davis). And multiple Jets beat writers have talked up Allen's performance and role in the offense since camp started.
Hall remains the biggest talent in the Jets backfield and the best bet to lead in touches and fantasy points. But Allen seems ready to take a step forward in terms of playing time and performance after an underwhelming rookie season. It's worth remembering that Allen played his entire rookie season at 20 years old.
We remain skeptical that Allen will get enough work alongside a healthy Hall to be a viable fantasy play. The Jets project to be one of the run-heaviest offenses in the NFL, but QB Justin Fields will take a big chunk of that rushing work.
We'll continue to keep an eye on this backfield over the next month, though. Allen is looking like a strong handcuff, at minimum. And we're raising his baseline projections, boosting him up the RB rankings.
Most of Allen's projected workload increase is coming from Hall, who is a rankings faller.