QB Justin Fields Said He Was Surprised by No. 20s Natural Hands Catching the Ball

Jack Bell

Jets running backBreece Hallsaid he was aware of the rumors before the NFL Draft.

"I was seeing it just like everybody else was seeing it," Hall said Wednesday, speaking publicly for the first time about those specious trade rumors. "But as I said, if people feel like you're not doing your job, you're going to be replaced. It didn't happen. I'm here."

Not only is he at the three-day mandatory minicamp at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center, but Hall said a quick call from HC Aaron Glenn in late April took his mind off the issues and allowed him to focus on the season to come.

"AG called me and told me he wanted me to be here," Hall said. "That meant a lot."

He added: "At first, I just kind of like, OK, we'll just see what happens. And then, AG called me and told me: 'Breece, you think I want to trade you?' And I was like, I don't know. He's like, 'Breece, I don't want to trade you. I want you to be here. You're going to be here, you're our running back.' And so that felt really good. And then just to sit down with him and have a long conversation, and for him to fill me in. For me to get to know him and everything, it's been cool. And to see how our practices are run, how competitive he likes it to be and how he likes to put the ball down and just let us play. It's been fun."

With that distracting issue out of the way, Hall, entering his fourth season with the Green & White, can concentrate on the task ahead -- in a new offense directed by OC Tanner Engstrand, with a new quarterback inJustin Fieldsand a lot of new faces.

"Breece is a ball player for sure," Fields said on Wednesday. "Of course, everybody knows he can run. But what kind of surprised me is his natural hands when I first started throwing with him. I mean, he has natural hands, kind of like a receiver, and he's really just an all-around back. So definitely glad to have him on my team."

In last season's pass-oriented attack on offense (of the Jets' 1,010 plays, a little more than one-third were runs), Hall did not have a game with more than 20 carries and one game where he ran for more than 100 yards (113 vs. Buffalo in Week 6). He totaled 5 rush TDs and 876 yards across 16 games. He did have 57 receptions for 483 yards and 3 TDs.

As Glenn and Engstrand have talked about the Jets' rushing attack so far across voluntary OTAs and now minicamp, they've spoken of a three-man attack with Hall, and second-year menBraelon AllenandIsaiah Davisall in the mix. Hall said he plans to make that decision harder for his coaches.

"I'm not obligated to anything," he said. "I'm around the new GM [Darren Mougey], new coaches, a lot of new faces. So for me, I got to prove that I am the guy. That's every day. I feel like my skill set, I'm a three-down back. We have a great running back room, and a lot of healthy competition. But my mentality is every day I'm going to prove that I am the best back on this roster, one of the best backs in the league.

"I have a quote on my phone. It says, 'If not me, then who?' I look at it every morning. And that's like my internal motivation because I'm very self-motivated."

During his time with the Jets, Hall has shown flashes of brilliance. He appeared to be on course to win Rookie of the Year honors in the 2022 season before he sustained a season-ending ACL injury seven games into the season. Up until that point he had rushed 80 times for 463 yards (20 first downs) and 4 TDs while catching 19 passes for 218 yards (11.5 a catch), which included a 79-yard catch-and-run play in Week 5 against Miami. The next season he returned from injury and nearly eclipsed 1,000 rush yards (994).

In the coming season in Engstrand's diverse offense Hall's talents could be used in myriad ways.

"I think all three [RBs] are going to play," Engstrand said. "They're all pretty darn good football players, and they all have a little bit of a different skill set. And so, we'll see how the game plan goes."

He added about Hall: "He's got a very good skill set. He's just a worker. He's going to go to work on his craft."

For his part, Hall doesn't expect anything to be gifted.

"Just getting back to the basics after a season ... you don't have as successful a season as you want," he said. "And that's just hard work. So, it's looking fun right now. But so far, it's been cool. It's been good to get around Tanner and all the new coaches, AG, and everybody. I've really enjoyed them. I like the people that we have around here, a lot of new faces in the building."