The New York Jets have been a mess of a franchise in recent years, but halfback Breece Hall has consistently shined as a bright spot among the mediocrity. While the new coaching staff spent the offseason talking about a timeshare in the backfield, Hall actually emerged from Week 1 with a fantastic performance and the vast majority of touches.
We’ve seen the talented halfback finish as an RB1 in fantasy football before, but it’s important not to overreact to a single game. Does his stat line in the season-opener imply Hall can return to that status and rise in fantasy running back rankings, or was it simply a flash in the pan?
Will Breece Hall be an RB1 in fantasy football?
When Aaron Glenn became the head coach of the New York Jets in the early weeks of the offseason, the former Detroit Lions defensive coordinator talked extensively about the importance of the ground game to the offense he planned to implement with his new team. After all, his former franchise deployed one of the NFL’s top backfield duos of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, who served as an elite thunder-and-lightning pairing for a top-tier offense. As such, plenty of chatter arose that the Jets would utilize a similar committee approach in the New York backfield.
While most NFL offenses now deploy some form of a timeshare at running back, that news still caused plenty of concern for fantasy managers interested in Breece Hall. The former Iowa State star averaged 16.4 FPPG in a limited sample as a rookie before a 17.1 FPPG campaign in year two, and even in a down year last season he still posted 15.1 FPPG. As one of few remaining halfbacks with a true bell-cow role, Hall finished as the per-game RB7, RB6, and RB17 in each of those years and brought immense upside each and every week thanks to his role. However, the rumors of a potential decrease in workload led the 24-year-old to drop slightly in 2025 fantasy drafts and sparked some sell-offs in dynasty formats as well.
The Jets seemed to want a committee on the ground during their Week 1 contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers as Hall, Braelon Allen, Isaiah Davis and Justin Fields all recorded carries in the first quarter. However, Hall clearly separated himself from the other halfbacks as he progressively took over through the remainder of the game. When the dust settled, he finished the day with 19 carries for 107 yards as well as two receptions on four targets for an additional 38 yards. Hall ended up with 13 more rush attempts than the next closest halfback and saw the only receiving work among backfield players as well.
The verdict
It’s best to avoid overreacting to a one-game sample, especially since Week 1 results are often somewhat fluky as players knock off the offseason rust. Hall’s performance of 16.5 PPR fantasy points was no lucky day, though. Even against a strong Steelers front seven, he rattled off four explosive rushes of 10+ yards and averaged 5.6 yards per carry on his 19 attempts. Factor in the loss of Jets offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker due to a season-ending injury and Hall’s performance becomes all the more impressive.
The coaching staff appears to like Allen, but the talent difference between he and Hall only seemed more clear during Week 1. Allen saw just six rush attempts on the day and took those carries for only nine yards, averaging a measly 1.5 yards per carry. He also failed to convert a two-point attempt which ultimately bit the Jets as they lost 34-32, and he was clearly phased out of the game plan in favor of Hall throughout the contest. Plus, the 21-year-old averaged just 3.6 yards per carry last season. These factors don’t bode well for Allen, but it sure does for Hall.
From the looks of it, Breece did everything he could to solidify his grasp on the lead back job in New York. He finished third in carries and rushing yards among all NFL halfbacks on the week while grading out first at the position with an 81.5 overall PFF grade and the third-best PFF rushing grade at 76.5. By all accounts, Hall looked like the best player on the field through much of the game and should have earned some respect from the coaching staff.
His workload was elite to start the season and he didn’t score a touchdown to supplement a successful day with 16.5 PPR fantasy points. Even when things aren’t going well on the ground, he also remains one of the better pass-catching backs after garnering over 130 targets in the last two seasons and finishing second on the Jets in targets on Sunday. Long story short, Hall absolutely belongs in the fantasy RB1 conversation if he sees a similar share of opportunities moving forward. Now’s the time to trade for him before he puts forth a week-winning stat line.
