You hear a lot of talk about running back trades. It's a fun thing to think about for fans of contending teams: Imagine if we could trade a future pick for this bad team's good running back! But it doesn't happen very often.
Injuries are often a large part of the obstacle. No one wants to trade for a player who gets hurt, and running backs are typically the most susceptible to injuries.
(Side note: things aren't starting off so hot for quarterbacks -- Burrow, Daniels, Lamar -- or wide receivers -- Nabers, Tyreek, CeeDee -- either.)
Breece Hall is in a contract year and the Jets look like they're on the fast track to 3-14 or so, so trading Hall would make a lot of sense. They have good depth at the position, with Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis behind him. Or had.
Allen suffered an MCL injury in last night's game, and is reportedly headed for IR. That could make the Jets less willing to trade Hall, although again, they're going nowhere and could sure use a good draft pick a year from now rather than a contract-year running back.
Whether Hall stays around or not, the Jets have shown an inclination to use multiple backs, with Aaron Glenn having seen that work really well in Detroit the last few years. So let's take a look at Davis, who looks like the No. 2 for at least the next month, and a possible starter if Hall gets traded or hurt.
Drafted in the fifth round in 2024, Davis hasn't played much this year: 5 carries, 27 yards, plus 3 for 24 as a receiver. But as a rookie, he did enough with his chances that at times we liked him more than Allen, and thought he could be the 2nd-best back on this team (and starter if the team moved Hall).
He carried it just 4 times in the first 11 games last season, but he got his chance in the last six, and looked good doing it.
| ISAIAH DAVIS, LAST SIX GAMES (2024) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opp | Att | Run | No | Rec | TD |
| Sea. | 1 | 4 | 3 | 28 | 1 |
| at Mia. | 10 | 40 | 3 | 27 | 1 |
| at Jac. | 5 | 24 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| LAR | 3 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| at Buf. | 3 | 35 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| Mia. | 4 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 26 | 156 | 8 | 65 | 2 |
Davis averaged 6.0 yards per attempt in those games, while also catching 8 passes and scoring twice. That was with Hall and Allen around; Davis played under a quarter of the snaps in four of those contests.
With Allen headed to IR for at least the next four games, he's going to play a lot more, even if Hall sticks around.
While the Jets are terrible, three of their next four games are not. They host Dallas this week, and then after facing the Broncos in Germany, they'll play the Panthers and Bengals.
Don't blow the waiver budget on him, but Davis is worth picking up in leagues as the No. 2 running back, with the chance always there that he'll be more than that.
--Andy Richardson