The Jets spent this offseason making sure Hall's role wasn't a theory anymore, locking him into a multi-year extension that pays him like the engine of the offense instead of a piece of it. The strain he picked up on a non-contact rep this preseason drew a shrug from Aaron Glenn, who has already signaled a season-opening trip to Tennessee is still the plan. Behind him, Braelon Allen used the break to add muscle and shed fat, then turned a light preseason workload into an explosive touchdown run -- a reminder of what the room looks like if the plan changes.
What separates Hall from most backs at this tier is that he's dangerous in both phases at once. He put together the first true every-week workhorse season of his career running behind an offensive line that gave him almost nothing, and did it with a level of per-carry efficiency that isn't supposed to happen without push up front. The Jets barely bothered using him as a receiver, and he still caught nearly every ball thrown his way and did damage after the catch -- there's a whole route tree here New York hasn't opened up yet.
The risk with Hall isn't scheme, it's the body. Groin strains have a habit of not staying minor, and a back who wins with burst is exactly the player type least equipped to play through one. Allen already showed the staff he doesn't need much of a workload to make a play, and with Isaiah Davis also in the mix, the Jets have made clear they're fine spreading carries around if Hall's absence runs long.
Kenneth Walker is stepping into a backfield that basically has to carry Kansas City by itself -- brought in on a big new contract after the Chiefs' run game finished near the bottom of the league, and doing it while the quarterback who used to bail that offense out works his way back from a torn ACL. That's a lot riding on a back who's never had to be the whole engine of a contender. Hall already answered that question: he had to be exactly that in New York last year and still delivered. Between a proven volume runner who doubles as a real receiving threat and a talented back walking into a rebuilt, quarterback-uncertain shell, Hall is the one who's already done the hard part.
