Without Hall, the Jets' Ground Game Is Down to Its Last Options

The angle here is familiar by now — I've been writing versions of it since Detroit — but the situation has clarified enough to say plainly: with Hall out, Isaiah Davis and Braelon Allen are carrying a backfield that has very little behind them. Davis appeared in all 16 games last season and is the steadier of the two. Allen has shown flashes but has logged only a handful of games of meaningful work. That's the depth chart. That's what's left.

Hall was the one skill-position constant this offense could count on. Last season he topped a thousand rushing yards, which on a 3–14 team is a significant individual anchor. Losing that kind of production mid-reset — with a new quarterback still finding his footing and the secondary still being rebuilt — compounds every other problem the Jets are managing right now.

Davis and Allen are capable enough to keep the position functional. What they can't do is replace what Hall meant as a release valve for a passing game still getting organized. That's the real loss here, less the yards than the margin for error those yards provided.