The New York Jets have revamped their offense this offseason. The acquisition of Aaron Rodgers to take over at quarterback is the biggest change, but there are a lot of new faces that will be taking the field this season.
Allen Lazard, Mecole Hardman and Randall Cobb are joining reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year Garrett Wilson, Corey Davis and Denzel Mims at wide receiver. Somewhat surprisingly, the team didn’t make many changes at the running back position.
Breece Hall, a second-round pick of the Jets in 2022, was playing at a high level before tearing his ACL, cutting his rookie season short. He has been making progress in his return to the field, as he was running off to the side for the portion of practice that reports were present for.
While the Iowa State product seemingly remains on track, the most recent upside isn’t overly encouraging. According to Zach Rosenblatt of The Athletic, it would be a surprise if Hall is ready to go on Day 1 of training camp.
“It remains unclear when Hall will be ready to go after ACL surgery. It has been six months since the surgery, so it would be surprising if he were ready to go on Day 1 of training camp. He hasn’t been practicing during OTAs, though he was seen running off to the side on Tuesday. The Jets didn’t invest heavily in the position this offseason, so they’re either confident Hall will return to form — which is rare the first year post-ACL surgery — or believe the other running backs can hold down the fort.”
The only addition that the Jets made in the offseason was selecting Israel Abanikanda out of Pittsburgh in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. His skill set is one that can mix well with Hall once he is back in the lineup, which makes it seem like the Jets are comfortable with their depth regardless of when the former Cyclone gets back into the lineup.
Michael Carter and Zonovan Knight are expected to help carry the load as long as Hall is sidelined. However, both struggled last season down the stretch, which could be why the Jets invested in the home run-hitting Abanikanda, who had 20 rushing touchdowns last season and averaged 6.0 yards per carry.
It will be interesting to see if more moves are back at the running back position. There isn’t much reliable experience on the roster at the position, which could put some added pressure on Rodgers. If that is something the Jets look to alleviate, a veteran could be added to the mix ahead of training camp, especially if Hall doesn’t look close to returning.
