The New York Jets are currently the standard-bearer for professional sports droughts, a title nobody in Florham Park wants. It has been 15 seasons since the Jets last tasted the postseason, giving them the longest active playoff drought across the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL. You have to go all the way back to the 2010 AFC Championship Game against the Steelers to find their last playoff appearance.
Since then, it’s been a sea of losing seasons, save for a lone winning campaign in 2015 with Ryan Fitzpatrick. After a dismal three-win performance last year, the Jets are sitting on the second overall pick, where they are almost certain to take a quarterback. After failed experiments with veteran stop-gaps like Aaron Rodgers and Justin Fields, the pressure is on to finally find a franchise savior.
Jets Secure Breece Hall with $14.2M Franchise Tag
In a move to ensure their next rookie quarterback has elite protection, the Jets officially placed the franchise tag on running back Breece Hall. The one-year, $14.293 million fully guaranteed price tag immediately makes the 24-year-old one of the top four highest-paid backs in the league. It’s a justified investment; Hall’s 1,065 rushing yards last season made him the first Jets running back to cross the 1,000-yard threshold in a decade.
With a young offensive core that includes Garrett Wilson, Adonai Mitchell, and Mason Taylor, new offensive coordinator Frank Reich finally has the pieces to build a balanced attack.
By using the franchise tag, the Jets have essentially slammed the door on any easy exit for Hall. While he is technically allowed to negotiate with other teams, the Jets hold the right of first refusal. If another team were to sign him and New York opted not to match, that team would have to cough up two first-round picks, a price virtually no one in today’s NFL is willing to pay for a running back.
This maneuver ensures that Hall remains the focal point of the Jets’ backfield as Reich looks to integrate a new signal-caller into the mix.
The Chiefs’ Dilemma: Hall Off the Board Reshapes the Running Back Market
The Jets’ decision to lock down Hall sends shockwaves through the rest of the league, specifically in Kansas City. For the Chiefs, this news complicates an already thin market for top-tier backfield talent. With both Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt slated for free agency, Brett Veach is staring down a total reset at the position.
Hall was widely considered the “dream” veteran target, but with him off the table, the spotlight shifts to Seahawks Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker, who is not expected to be tagged, and Travis Etienne Jr.
This scarcity makes the NFL Draft even more critical for Kansas City. Sitting at the No. 9 spot, the Chiefs are increasingly linked to Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love. Once seen as a luxury pick, Love is now looking like a necessity.
If the Chiefs strike out on the remaining veteran options like Walker or Etienne, the pressure to draft Love becomes immense. In a draft where the top eight teams are desperate for quarterbacks and defensive stars, Love might be there for the taking at nine, providing Patrick Mahomes with a game-breaking weapon to keep the offense from stalling.
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