Connor Hughes of SNY reported that the New York Jets plan to feature running back Breece Hall more prominently as their lead back in 2026.

On the surface, this is no groundbreaking news. Breece Hall has been the Jets’ No. 1 back since 2022 when he was a rookie drafted out of Iowa State. But I think this means something bigger: more touches, more carries, and a genuine commitment to building the offense around him.

And that’s a big deal for this Jets team.

The case for more carries

Look, Hall had 243 carries last season for the Jets, which put him 11th in the NFL, ironically tied with Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs. But when you look at Gibbs, the reason he only had 243 carries is because Detroit also had a competent No. 2 back in David Montgomery, who had around 160 carries on the season.

The Jets don’t have that luxury. With all due respect to Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis, neither of them have shown they can carry a workload from the backfield. New York also just gave Hall a $45 million extension this summer, which tells you the organization values him as one of the top backs in all of football.

And they should. But in turn, they need to give him the touches to match that investment.

There is no reason that with the way this offense is constructed, Hall should be outside the top-10 in carries this year. Maybe even top-5. I think that’s the best path forward for Aaron Glenn and this Jets team.

The supporting cast has improved

Now, the Jets have also upgraded their wide receiver room. I think A.D. Mitchell is going to have a good first full year with the Jets after being part of the Sauce Gardner trade. Omar Cooper Jr., the rookie, and Kenyon Sadiq, the rookie tight end out of Oregon, give the team real pass-catching depth around Garrett Wilson. The receiving corps looks better than it has in a while.

With that being said, though, New York has a veteran quarterback, an aging quarterback in Geno Smith who needs pressure taken off of him. That makes the case for feeding Hall even stronger. The Jets should look to get him as many carries as they can on a game-by-game basis. If Hall isn’t getting over 20 carries a game, then there is some sort of problem with this offense.

The bottom line

Again, none of this is groundbreaking. We know Hall is the Jets’ RB1. It’s not even close.

But there’s room for him to get more carries and be up there with some of the top backs in the league in terms of usage rate. I think the Jets will do that in 2026, and I think it will greatly help their offense get back to being a competent unit on a consistent basis.