Last week, Breece Hall shook up social media with three cryptic words.
“Time will tell.”
https://x.com/BreeceH/status/1953475247459504264
During Wednesday’s press conference, Hall might have expressed what he meant when asked what has changed about the Jets offense for him from last year to this year.
“Nothing really,” Hall said. “I think people try to make a skewed version of the truth of it changing. I’ve always been able to catch the ball. I’ve always been a receiving threat. I just feel like last season, just stuff doesn’t always work out how you expect it to.
“I’ve said this before, when you’re one of the better players on the team or being one of the faces of the team, when stuff doesn’t go well all the time, you’re at the forefront of not the blame, but stuff falls on you a little bit. I guess, unfortunately, I happen to be one of those players. But for me, nothing’s changed. I’m still the same threat that I’ve always been.”
Hall was also asked if he thinks he creates more social media buzz because he is one of Gang Green’s better known players, and he had an interesting response.
“I think it is a little bit of everything,” he said. “Honestly, it is the New York media. You guys put out stuff, everybody puts out stuff. So for me, I come from a very grounded Midwest family and my mom has always taught me that God gave you a gift that no one else has and that’s just because of me as a person, I’m my own person.
“She always taught me to be very humble and to treat everybody with respect, but also not let people play with you.”
Hall’s career hasn’t lived up to his, or even many fans’ expectations, after he was selected in the second round out of Iowa State.
No one is denying Hall has the talent to become one of the better running backs in the NFL, but for a variety of reasons, it hasn’t happened during his first three seasons in the league.
During Hall’s first season in 2022, he tore his ACL and missed the final 10 games. The following year, he was six yards short (994) of 1,000 yards, but Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles and missed all but four plays. In addition, Hall’s then offensive coordinator, Nathaniel Hackett, seemed unaware that Hall excelled at pass catching.
Although he finished with 1,359 all-purpose yards and eight touchdowns last season, the Jets believe Hall can be an even more dynamic player out of the backfield. Jets offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand wants to lean more into Hall’s versatility, which could aid the team in both the rushing and passing attack.
“I think Breece is a matchup issue for defensive players, especially the linebackers,” Engstrand said about Hall early during training camp. “If they want to play man-to-man coverage with Breece, I’m going to take that matchup any day of the week.
“It’s been fun to see him develop the route tree, not just, as AG [Jets coach Aaron Glenn] said the other day, not just in the backfield, but outside of the backfield as well, and see if we can find some things that he does out there that can give us some chances to get some explosives.”
With questions about their wide receiver room outside of Garrett Wilson, the Jets may need to rely on Hall in the passing game. The Jets wide receiver room consists of Josh Reynolds, Allen Lazard, Tyler Johnson, Xavier Gipson and rookie Arian Smith.
In three seasons, Hall has caught 152 passes for 1,292 yards and eight touchdowns. But he had nine drop passes in 2024, which was tied for the third most in the league.
“It has been cool,” Hall said about playing receiver. “For me, it has been fun to split out some plays. There have been formations where I’ve been the single receiver on the side and trying to mess with the defense and see how they adjust to it.”
This is a critical year for Hall because he will be a free agent at season’s end. He has told reporters he doesn’t expect the Jets to reward him with a contract extension before the start of the regular season. So how he plays in 2025 will go a long way in determining if Hall will be with the Jets or elsewhere.
On Wednesday morning, fellow 2022 second-round pick, Bills running back James Cook, agreed to a four-year, $48 million contract with $30 million guaranteed. Rams running back Kyren Williams recently agreed to a three-year, $33 million contract extension. But Hall is not focused on what his future payday could look like next year.
“They’ve done much more in the league than I have,” Hall said about Cook’s and Williams’ extensions. “They’ve been in better situations and they are both very good players.
“For me, I feel like I’m just as talented as anyone, but those guys are two really good running backs, and they deserve their payday, and I’m happy for them.”
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