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New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh is excited about his current running back room.
While celebrating his 2024 stable, Saleh couldn’t help but take a shot at his old one.
“We love that running back room. It has come a long way since the first year that we were here,” Saleh said with a smirk on Saturday, August 10. “We feel like we have some legitimate runners all across the board.”
The Jets hired Saleh on January 14, 2021. According to Pro Football Reference, Gang Green employed six running backs during that 2021 campaign.
That list included Michael Carter, Austin Walter, La’Mical Perine, Ty Johnson, Tevin Coleman, and Josh Adams.
Three of those six players aren’t playing the sport of football in 2024.
Arrow Is Pointing up Coming off of the Jets Preseason Opener
Breece Hall was a healthy scratch in the Week 1 preseason contest against the Washington Commanders.
Although every other running back on the roster got some run on Saturday, August 10. Perhaps the two most exciting standouts from the room were the two rookies.
Braelon Allen, the No. 134 overall pick in April’s draft, turned some heads with his performance.
He toted the rock six times for 54 rushing yards. Allen averaged nine yards per clip on the day.
Allen showed off his power with a thunderous run up the A-gap and plowed through a defender on one series. Then in another series, he showed off his speed getting to the outside on a stretch play outside past the left side of the offensive line. Allen finished that run by lowering his shoulder and gaining some additional yardage.
The other Jets rookie running back, Isaiah Davis, the No. 173 overall pick in April’s draft, wasn’t nearly as prolific on the ground. He finished with just eight rushing yards on four carries.
However, Davis strutted his stuff as a receiver out of the backfield. He finished the day with four receptions for 33 receiving yards. The highlight of the afternoon was a 24-yard catch and run.
A Comforting Feeling for the Jets Coaching Staff
Despite all of the pops from the rookies, Hall will be the straw that stirs the drink for the Jets on the offensive side of the ball.
However, the difference between last season and this season is the RB2 for the green and white. Last year the Jets invested in free agent Dalvin Cook. He was supposed to help alleviate the pressure on the team so they wouldn’t rush Hall back early from his torn ACL.
The Jets seemed to be wrong on two fronts. Hall recovered faster from his ACL than anyone anticipated. To put it bluntly, Cook looked washed with the Jets when they thought he still had gas left in the tank.
Cook appeared in 15 games and carried the ball 67 times for 214 rushing yards. He averaged only 3.2 yards per carry which was the lowest mark of his career.
Heading into this season, the Jets appear to have a lot more answers in the backfield than they have had previously. When the key decision-makers in the Jets’ front office lay their heads on their pillows at night, they can sleep easily knowing they have depth at the position.
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