There’s a lot of excitement surrounding Breece Hall. The New York Jets nabbed him in Round 2 of the 2022 NFL draft and he’s expected to hit the ground running.
But Pro Football Focus thinks New York should be more excited about the tandem he’s joining.
The football analytics outlet ranked the most elusive running backs in the NFL from last season. The rookie naturally was not in the pros a year ago but Michael Carter was.
The player assumed to be the No. 2 on the depth chart now is actually the third most elusive rusher from last year.
Here’s what PFF wrote on Carter:
3. MICHAEL CARTER, NEW YORK JETS
Missed Tackles Forced per Attempt: 0.265 | Missed Tackles Forced: 39
The Jets’ ball-carrier saw 77.46% — the third-highest percentage — of his 639 total yards come after contact and forced 39 missed tackles in 2021. While he was lower down the list in first downs and touchdowns, he averaged 4.3 yards per attempt, which was more of a middle-of-the-pack figure.
During minicamp it was reported that the Jets have Hall at the top of their depth chart. PFF’s note here proves New York has to keep Carter in mind.
But even if Hall gets more carries the tandem approach in the NFL has become more and more popular over the years. Multiple teams sport backfields with a dynamic duo or more. The Jets will hope to join those ranks with both Hall and Carter changing the pace.
On PFF’s ranking of the most elusive running backs, only the Cleveland Browns’ Kareem Hunt and Denver Broncos Javonte Williams outrank Carter, respectively.