Last year, the New York Jets ran the ball less than any other team in the NFL.
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic believes the Jets could flip the script to the other extreme in 2025.
“The biggest reason for that (Aaron Rodgers) is gone. It would not shock me if the Jets went from last to first in terms of rushing attempts — the product of a run-first scheme led by offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand, and the dynamic, dual-threat quarterbacking of Justin Fields in the fray,” Rosenblatt said.
In 2024, the Jets finished with 363 rushing attempts. That was 17 fewer than the next closest team, the Las Vegas Raiders (380), per ESPN.
In 2024, the Philadelphia Eagles finished with the most rushing attempts in the NFL’s regular season (621). That is 258 more rushing attempts than the Jets had last season.
How Do the Numbers Work for That Jets Projection?
For the Jets to match the Eagles’ total from last season, they would have to average 37 rushing attempts per game throughout the 17-game regular season.
How are all of those carries getting split up?
Breece Hall, infamously, last year didn’t get a single game with 20 rushing attempts. As a matter of fact, through Hall’s first three years in the league, he has only had four games with 20 rushing attempts or more in a game.
If that trend continues, someone else is going to have to step up to the plate.
Head coach Aaron Glenn and offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand have talked throughout the offseason about a three-headed committee. That would include Braelon Allen, Isaiah Davis, and the Hall as mentioned above.
While the Jets want Fields to truly play the quarterback position in 2025, they won’t shy away from maximizing his superpower.
“He can really throw the deep ball really, really well. Obviously, his legs are something that’s dynamic not just in college but the NFL, as well. I just think he’s ready to break out as a top-notch quarterback. So, he’s going to do everything he can to be one of the better ones and we are going to coach our asses off to make sure he does a good job out there,” Glenn told NFL Network Senior National Columnist Judy Battista at the Annual League Meeting via the NFL Media Group.
Fields has averaged 105 rushing attempts per season across the last four years of his NFL career. That translates to 6.2 rushing attempts per game.
Braelon Allen Is Lurking as the Next Guy in the Jets Backfield
“The Jets are modeling their offense after the one Engstrand and Aaron Glenn came from in Detroit, where, in theory at least, Breece Hall would play the Jahmyr Gibbs role while Allen would step in as the David Montgomery, power-running type. Allen was a training camp breakout last year who never got a chance to get going in a bad offense, but he’ll have plenty of opportunities in 2025 to make his mark and prove he can be the long-term starter with Hall in the last year of his contract,” Rosenblatt said.
When a new regime takes over, there are far more questions than answers. How many running backs will they keep on the 53-man roster? How do they value the RB position?
The Lions valued RBs in Detroit, but that doesn’t mean Glenn or Engstrand, for that matter, feel the same way.
Would they be willing to pay Hall a lot of money if he breaks out in 2025? Or is the torch being passed to Allen as the RB1 inevitable?
Allen, at the very least, will be a strong piece to the puzzle in 2025. The former Wisconsin product has three cheap years remaining on his $4.5 million rookie contract.
