New York Jets running back Breece Hall is ready to fly.
After the second-year ball-carrier played under a rep count for four weeks, coach Robert Saleh said any restrictions are off.
"From an opportunity standpoint, there is no pitch count with him anymore," Saleh said Wednesday.
After Hall tore his ACL in Week 7 last season, the Jets rightly want to take it slow with the dynamic running back. Hall has played 87 of the Jets' 217 offensive plays through four games, per Next Gen Stats. Dalvin Cook has taken 72 snaps and Michael Carter, 59.
Hall looked spry out of the gate, busting an 83-yard run in Week 1 en route to a 10-carry, 127-yard rushing performance with a 20-yard catch in the Jets' only win. After being stymied in two blowouts (36 total yards on 17 touches), Hall popped another big run (43 yards) in Sunday night's loss to Kansas City.
Clearly the Jets' top backfield weapon, taking the reins off Hall can help the offense find sustainability and aid Zach Wilson. However, Saleh couched his comments, noting the offense has a host of playmakers.
"We'd love to get him going," he said of Hall. "But at the same time, we've got a lot of guys we want to get the ball to. Garrett (Wilson)'s a special player, (Allen) Lazard showed how good he can be, Xavier Gipson showed up in the game, the three tight ends we have are all pretty darn good. Knock on wood, we've got some guys. We just got to find a way to distribute the ball in a way that's best for the team and making sure that we're scoring points."
Saleh suggested that the Jets wouldn't completely move away from Cook, whom the club brought in midway through training camp. Coming off offseason surgery, Cook has been slow to start the season. On 30 carries, the 28-year-old has generated 74 yards (2.5 YPC), compared to Hall's 210 on 32 carries (6.6 YPC).
Despite the staggering disparity (and Carter eating into Cook's reps), Saleh said he sees Cook rounding into form.
"He's coming along," the coach said. "Remember, he didn't have OTAs, he didn't have training camp. He's still getting his legs underneath him. I'll speak for him: I'm sure he wants more, I'm sure he wants more production. He needs to continue to work. He's getting faster, his GPS numbers are showing to get a lot faster. It looks like he's getting his legs underneath himself. We just need to find those guys a little more opportunity. We knew it was going to be hard."
Even if Cook sees an uptick in production, Hall should get the lion's share of the work. He's simply the more explosive back at this stage of their careers.
Regardless of how it happens, Gang Green needs more help from the backfield to kick the offense in gear. Through four weeks, the Jets have a -0.26 EPA per carry, per NGS, dead last in the NFL.
