FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Breece Hall’s comeback journey from a major knee injury finished 6 yards short of 1,000 last season.
The New York Jets running back insists he’ll scamper far past that statistical milestone, leaving any doubts behind him — along with would-be tacklers.
“I’m for sure going to have 1,000-plus yards this year,” Hall declared after training camp practice Thursday. “So that ain’t even anything that’s in the back of my mind.”
The 23-year-old Hall enters the season as one of the NFL’s most dynamic running backs after a terrific second year during which he ran for 994 yards and five touchdowns and led all players at his position with 76 catches for 591 yards and four scores.
And that came after he worked his way back from a torn ACL in his left knee in Week 7 of what was shaping up to be a special rookie season.
“I didn’t really do training camp last year,” Hall said. “I probably had three weeks before the season that I started practicing and stuff. But just to be out there now at the beginning was just, it feels good.”
The Jets actually thought Hall had reached 1,000 yards in the season finale at New England, where he had a career-high 178 yards on 37 carries. But coach Robert Saleh later acknowledged a statistical error had the team thinking Hall already hit the milestone.
While many of his coaches and teammates say quarterback Aaron Rodgers is the key to how the offense wants to play and operate, but it’s Hall who drives everything as a do-it-all engine.
“He’s important because he’s special,” Saleh said. “He’s a three-down back because he’s capable. He’s got electric speed, he’s big, he’s strong, he’s powerful, he’s smart, and even him getting a full offseason of work without needing to worry about his injury, knock on wood, I’m really looking forward to a full season with him.”
When Hall and the offense gathered on the field before the first practice of training camp Wednesday, he told his teammates: “Let’s set the standard.”
Rodgers looked over to Hall and said: “You set the standard.”
And during the first two days of camp, Hall has gotten plenty of work. In a 7-on-7 drill on Thursday, Rodgers scrambled out of the pocket and looked down the right sideline, where he found Hall — who made a terrific catch.
“Hearing that stuff from guys like him means a lot to me,” Hall said. “It lets me know that I’m one of the guys that does set the standard. So it’s been cool to be out there.”
When Hall was injured as a rookie, then-Giants running back Saquon Barkley was among the first to reach out to him. As someone who suffered a similar injury, Barkley has been an example of a running back who bounced back and got even better a year later.
“It’s just different,” Hall said. “Like, last year, you’re dealing with being sore all the time, stuff like that. Now my knee doesn’t bother me at all or anything, so this feels like back to normal.”
During minicamp last month, Hall said the 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey is the NFL’s best running back — something he’s striving for. He could be looking for a little respect, too: CBS Sports released a list of the NFL’s top 100 players — and Hall wasn’t mentioned.
“There’s not 100 People better than me in the NFL…. #ChildPlease,” Hall wrote on the social platform X.
Only two running backs made the list: McCaffrey at No. 8 and Baltimore’s Derrick Henry at No. 91.
“Obviously, I think I’m one of the best running backs in the league,” Hall said. “And usually the top backs in the league are some of the top players, so that speaks for itself. I’m not really worried about it.”
Hall, who could be up for a massive raise in the next two offseasons, has also been paying attention to the big-money deals other running backs have received, such as the two-year, $38 million contract extension McCaffrey got last month.
“They’re still not getting paid enough,” Hall said. “We touch the ball the third most other than the quarterback and the center. … I feel like guys like McCaffrey, he sets the standard. He’s doing everything. If you can do everything, you deserve to get paid.”
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This story has been corrected to show Hall finished 6 yards short of 1,000 instead of 4.
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