The Minnesota Vikings‘ offensive prowess will no doubt be much reliant on the abilities of second year quarterback, JJ McCarthy, who has yet to feature in a regular season game after missing the entirety of the 2024 season with a meniscus tear.
But a less spoken-about question mark for the Vikings comes from their running back room, where the options behind Aaron Jones – who will be 31 years old by the end of next season – are limited.
So it stands to reason that Minnesota could make a move for a bona fide, high-level running back as they continue to make a push in the ultra-competitive NFC North. And New York Jets feature back, Breece Hall, could make a lot of sense after an ESPN article by Rich Cimini, noted that the former second round pick could be a “prime candidate” be traded in the not-too-distant future.
“The Jets want to be a run-oriented offense, so it wouldn’t have made sense to trade their most accomplished back.” Cimini wrote on Sunday, “It could be a different story around the mid-season trading deadline. If they fall out of contention, Hall will be a prime candidate to be dealt. We already know how much Glenn likes [Braelon] Allen and [Isaiah] Davis.”
Per Cimini, new Jets head coach, Aaron Glenn iterated his admiration for not just Hall – the clear RB1 in New York heading into Week 1 – but for the room trio.
“I’m excited about all three of those guys, I really am,” Glenn said. “I don’t know if there are three backs in this league that have the potential like these three.”
This certainly implies a willingness – if things went sour in Glenn’s first season as head coach – on the behalf of the Jets’ coaching staff to move off one of their few shining offensive stars over the past three years.
Despite going into Year 4 in the NFL, there is a feeling that Hall has yet to hit top gear. Having just turned 24, the former Iowa State product still has the bulk of his career ahead of him – despite the modern running back position being famed for its notoriously short half-life.
Minnesota was over-reliant on Jones and his 1,138 rushing yards in 2024, with no other running back managing even 300 yards on the ground.
Indeed, the next two highest rushers on the team, Cam Akers and quarterback, Sam Darnold, are no longer with the franchise.
The Vikings bought in former San Francisco 49ers backup, Jordan Mason, to enact the same role in Minneapolis, after Mason spent the majority of the 2024 season as the starter in Christian McCaffrey‘s absence.
But Mason is not the same caliber of back as Hall – and managed fewer than 800 rushing yards last season, despite playing in Kyle Shanahan’s very RB friendly outside zone blocking scheme.
And beyond the former Niner, the Vikings have very little at the position group. Ty Chandler – currently the third back on the depth chart, managed just 182 rushing yards in 2024.
Minnesota Vikings get: Breece Hall
New York Jets get: 2026 fourth round pick, 2026 seventh round pick
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