The Jets wrapped up their second week of OTAs and are now about halfway through this final phase of the offseason program. The Jets have four days of work in the third week of OTAs before finishing up with mandatory minicamp June 11-13.
One storyline that came out of the second week of OTAs for the Jets is the continued battle for the No. 2 running back role behind Breece Hall. The Jets drafted two backs in April, Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis, to compete with 2023 fifth-round pick Izzy Abanikanda. The team also signed former Bears running back Tarik Cohen, attempting a comeback following multiple major injuries.
It’s very, very early, but Allen, the team’s fourth-round pick out of Wisconsin, may already be the favorite to be Hall’s direct backup this season. During the media session Wednesday, Allen flashed his pass-catching skills to go along with his pass-protection skills.
“(Allen’s) known for his ability in pass protection but also flashed as a receiver on Wednesday, getting open against linebackers in coverage,” wrote Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic. “He showed some shiftiness after the catch too.
“Second-year running back Izzy Abanikanda isn’t exactly receiving the lion’s share of reps with Hall out,” noted Connor Hughes of SNY. “It actually feels he’s working behind rookie Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis at times. That’s not a great sign. GM Joe Douglas rarely cuts his rookie draft picks. It’s getting hard to see a path for Abanikanda to make the 53-man roster, assuming the Jets keep just four (looping in fullback Nick Bawden).”
Allen rushed for double-digit touchdowns in all three of his seasons at Wisconsin: 12 in 2021, 11 in 2022, 12 in 2023. Allen also improved his receiving numbers over the year, catching 28 passes for 132 yards in 2023.
Here is the scouting report on Allen from The Athletic’s Dane Brugler from his draft guide.
“A three-year starter at Wisconsin, Allen was the focal point of offensive coordinator Phil Longo’s multiple-run scheme. After signing as a safety/linebacker out of high school (at age 16), he stayed on offense and led the Badgers in rushing each of his three seasons in Madison, including 20 career 100-yard rushing games, the most of any active college player in 2023. (Wisconsin was 18-2 in those games). A balanced, one-cut athlete, Allen shows a great feel for lane development, especially on inside/outside zone. He can run with either finesse or physicality, depending on the situation (69.5 percent of his yardage came after contact in 2023).
“He needs to prove his reliability (ball security, durability), but he plays through pain, and NFL teams love that he is the youngest player in this draft class. Overall, Allen isn’t overly creative and doesn’t run with as much nastiness as his size suggests, but he is well built with the vision, feet and overall feel to maximize the run
design. He has the talent and third-down potential to be a productive NFL tandem back, similar to Tyler Allgeier.”
Allen is already starting to build some momentum this spring. Time will tell if that will carry over into the summer, but the early outlook is the Jets may have a nice one-two punch with Hall and Allen.
