Turf Show Times
What if Jets running back Breece Hall had spent the last three season with Sean McVay instead of Robert Saleh? That’s a question that Hall was wondering himself on Wednesday after James Cook joined Rams running back Kyren Williams on the list of players from the 2022 class who got paid this offseason. Hall says that he’s as good as Williams and Cook, but that he’s played in a worse situation than both of them.
Could Hall already be a Pro Bowler, like Williams, if he had managed to switch places?
The Rams signed Williams to a contract that pays him $11 million per season in new money, then the Bills extended Cook on Wednesday to a deal that pays him $12 million annually. Both players have had a lot of success in the NFL, as has Hall, but not nearly to the same degree. Hall says that Williams and Cook deserve what they got, but that he’s just as good as they are. The numbers lean in favor of the other two, but as Hall says, he’s been playing in a bunk situation with the New York Jets:
The numbers don’t seem that much different, and in fact Hall is the most accomplished receiver, but we have to remember that Williams basically didn’t play at all as a rookie. Most of his production has come in the past two seasons. Cook has done a lot of his work on limited downs (he plays a little more than half as many snaps as Williams actually) and he averages 4.9 yards per carry, while fumbling less often than Williams and Hall.
Cook is considered a dangerous weapon and led the NFL with 16 rushing touchdowns last year. Williams has scored a total of 31 touchdowns in the past two years.
Playing behind one of the worst offensive lines in football, no passing game, and poor coaching, Hall has yet to hit 1,000 rushing yards in any season so far. He missed 10 games as a rookie in 2022, but has been mostly healthy in the past two years. The 36th overall pick in the 2022 draft, Hall was the first running back off of the board, followed by Kenneth Walker at 41, then Cook at 63.
Hall was considered the best all-around prospect at the position, so maybe playing for McVay could have taken him to a level we haven’t seen from him yet. Maybe even better than Kyren Williams. But that’s only a question we can ponder, not something we can ever know for sure.
