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Rich Cimini, editor at ESPN
FLORHAM PARK, NJ — At the first team meeting of the OTAs, New York Jets running back Braelon Allen waited with his fellow rookie players for the veterans to take their seats in the audience – one of those unwritten rules that rookies must abide by.
After the veterans sat down, Allen found Aaron Rodgers, walked to his seat and introduced himself. The 40-year-old quarterback knew Allen’s backstory, playing for Wisconsin at age 17 and now the youngest player in the NFL.
“He was definitely a little insecure about (my age) when I first met him,” said Allen, now 20. “He was like, ‘(You’re) the first guy I’ve ever played with who could literally be my kid.'”
It’s not just Allen; youth is spread across the entire backfield.
The franchise that produced the oldest NFL rushing champion in history — 31-year-old Hall of Famer Curtis Martin in 2004 — now has the youngest running backs in the league, according to ESPN Stats & Information (based on Aug. 9 rosters).
The average age? 22.8 years.
Let’s call them Generation Z4, with Breece Hall (23), Allen, Isaiah Davis (22) and Israel Abanikanda (21) – the four best backs on the list. Also on the roster are Deon Jackson (25) and Xazavian Valladay (26). Only three, maybe four, will make the Opening Day roster.
If Rodgers hands the ball off this season, it will be handed off to someone who isn’t old enough to remember Rodgers’ rookie season… back in 2005. Heck, Allen was only three months old when Rodgers was drafted.
Hall, by far the Jets’ most accomplished player at the position, finds it odd every time running backs coach Tony Dews refers to him as the guy “everyone looks up to.” Hall doesn’t see himself as the master of running backs.
“Everyone in the running back room is about my age,” Hall said. “So it’s the funniest thing.”
This represents a change in philosophy for the Jets, who spent big last summer on Dalvin Cook, who was 28 when he signed a one-year, $7 million deal in the preseason. Perhaps they learned a lesson about runners past their prime, because Cook averaged just 3.2 yards per carry on 67 attempts. They released him before the season was over.
This spring, the Jets drafted Allen in the fourth round and then followed it up by taking Davis in the fifth round out of South Dakota State. Both have impressed in training camp, especially Allen, a 6-foot-1, 235-pound slugger who could be the ideal complement to the speedy Hall.
“Coach Dews trains him a little differently than we do because he’s more of a Derrick Henry-style running back,” said Hall, who ran for 994 yards and added 591 yards as a receiver last season.
In Saturday’s season opener, Allen likely secured the RB2 job when he rushed for 54 yards on six carries against the Washington Commanders. Coach Robert Saleh called him “a very tough runner,” adding, “When he gets to the second level, it hurts just to touch the man.”
There’s no doubt that Hall is the No. 1 running back and can make an impact on all three downs, but the Jets will look to replace him. Right now, Allen is the best backup. Hall joked that they call themselves the “Killer Bs.”
After graduating early from high school, Allen rushed for 3,494 yards and 35 touchdowns in his three-year career at Wisconsin. Originally recruited as a linebacker, there was also talk of him being a safety. He ended up on offense and made an impression on Rodgers, who watched the Badgers on TV and noticed how this 17-year-old tailback was rolling over Big Ten defenses.
Allen grew up in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, not far from Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers. He said of Rodgers, “I grew up less than an hour from the place where his name will live on forever.”
The funny thing is that Allen’s parents are Chicago Bears fans.
“Twice a year, there was quite a bit of bitterness in our household on Sundays,” he said, laughing.
The Jets made Allen (20 years, 98 days) the third-youngest player drafted into the NFL since 2000, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The only younger players were defensive tackle Amobi Okoye (19 years, 322 days) in 2007 and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (19 years, 359 days) in 2018.
Allen knows his role in the backfield.
“I’m a bit of an underdog in terms of size, so I know what I’m supposed to do here – and that’s play smashmouth football,” Allen said.
Davis (6-1, 220) is stylistically closer to Hall than Allen. He’s not as fast as Hall, but he’s an instinctive runner with enough speed to get to the limit. He dominated at the FCS level, rushing for 4,548 yards and 50 touchdowns in four seasons.
He was the Gatorade High School Player of the Year in Missouri, but he was a mediocre recruit with only one Division I offer – South Dakota State. In fact, it was only a 65% scholarship until late in his freshman year, when the school upgraded it to a full scholarship.
Davis considers it a blessing to be in the NFL and to compete for playing time as a rookie. His ability to return kickoffs and punts could earn him a prominent role. His highlight in the season opener was a 24-yard pass.
“It’s a competitive group with a lot of hungry guys,” Davis said.
Leaguewide, the value of running backs has dropped in recent years, but general manager Joe Douglas has selected at least one in each of his five drafts. Four remain on the roster – Hall, Allen, Davis and Abanikanda, a fifth-round pick from Pitt in 2023. Abanikanda scored on a 2-yard run against the Commanders.
It’s still early, but the Jets appear to have enough depth at the young man position.
“We’ve come a long way since our first year here,” said Saleh, who was hired in 2021. “We feel like we have some legitimate runners across the board.”
