Breece Hall can fly up Jets’ all-time rushing list faster than you think

Breece Hall’s three-year contract extension with the New York Jets won’t just affect the team for the next three years.

It could alter Jets history as we know it.

Hall’s multi-year deal comes at a point where he is on the doorstep of making some major headway on the franchise’s all-time rushing list. Now that he is locked up for the next three seasons, Hall has the potential to establish himself as one of the greatest rushers in team history.

In fact, he may earn that distinction much quicker than you think.

Hall’s trajectory on Jets’ rushing list

Currently, Hall ranks 12th on the Jets’ all-time rushing list with 3,398 yards, slotting him between Shonn Greene and Brad Baxter.

The next eight spots, though, are closely bunched. Hall could easily jump into the No. 4 spot by the end of the 2026 season.

Here are the top 12 rushers in Jets history:

1. Curtis Martin (10,302)
2. Freeman McNeil (8,074)
3. Emerson Boozer (5,135)
4. Matt Snell (4,285)
5. Johnny Hector (4,280)
6. John Riggins (3,880)
7. Thomas Jones (3,833)
8. Bilal Powell (3,675)
9. Bill Mathis (3,589)
10. Adrian Murrell (3,447)
11. Shonn Greene (3,423)
12. Breece Hall (3,398)

Hall only needs 888 rushing yards this season to blast all the way up to No. 4. His career average of 60.7 rushing yards per game would put him on pace for 1,032 yards in 17 games, so if he stays healthy for at least 15 games (pace for 911 yards), he should be one of the Jets’ all-time top four rushers by the end of the season.

Emerson Boozer’s No. 3 spot is realistically within reach as well, but it would take a career year by a substantial margin.

Hall needs 1,738 rushing yards to pass Boozer. Four players have hit that mark in the 2020s (Derrick Henry twice, Jonathan Taylor, Saquon Barkley), so it is within the realm of possibility for a high-end, bell-cow back. Hall arguably has the talent to do it, but he probably won’t get the necessary volume or support.

Still, provided he stays healthy, it is all but guaranteed that Hall will pass Boozer by the end of the 2027 season. At 60.7 rushing yards per game, it would take him 29 games to pass Boozer.

From there, Hall would have his work cut out for him to climb into the top two. He will either have to sustain his current production for a very long time, or significantly bump up his production.

At this current career average of 60.7 rushing yards per game, Hall would need 78 games to pass second-ranked Freeman McNeil (5 seasons, if he doesn’t miss any games) and 114 games to pass top-ranked Curtis Martin (7 seasons).

The Jets’ hope, though, is that Hall’s production will trend upward in the coming years. In his career to date, Hall has been dealt about as bad a hand as an RB1 could get. His volume has been crushed due to New York constantly trailing, and his efficiency has been limited due to poor blocking and stacked boxes.

If the Jets stay closer in games moving forward, Hall’s carries per game should increase. And if they can get more competent quarterback and offensive line play, his efficiency should increase. Those two factors working hand-in-hand could spike his rushing yards per game into the 70s, or even the 80s if things go perfectly.

The question, then, would be how long Hall could sustain that peak, considering that running backs tend to fall off quickly in their late-20s (especially those who carry a heavy workload early in their career, like Hall).

Hypothetically speaking, let’s just say that Hall can average 70 rushing yards per game moving forward (pace for 1,190 per 17 games). At that rate, he would need 67 games to pass McNeil (4 seasons) and 99 games to pass Martin (6 seasons).

It would be a tall order. Just to pass McNeil, Hall would need to stay healthy through age 29 while maintaining a level of production we still haven’t seen him reach by his fourth NFL season. He’d have to do it through age 31 to catch Martin.

Ultimately, the bottom line is that Hall should breeze his way into the Jets’ all-time top three by the end of 2027, but to go any further, he will need to display some of the best longevity we’ve seen at the running back position in recent NFL history.