And perhaps even a little more so in the passing game, where Hall plus second-year backs Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis are being used by Engstrand as targets, whether it be out of the backfield, in the slot, or even, dare we say, split wide?
“It’s been cool,” Hall said. “For me it’s been not stressful but it’s been fun to split out some plays. There have been formations where I’ve been the single receiver on the side, try and mess with the defense and see how they adjust to it. But it’s been cool, it’s been fun.”
And why wouldn’t it be a hoot? Hall in less than three full NFL seasons has already established himself as potentially among the most versatile backs in the league as well as in franchise history.
“I’m very much so still a running back,” he said. “But when you have a back that can catch, whether it’s a [Christian] McCaffrey, a Saquon [Barkley], a Jahmyr Gibbs, a Bijan Robinson, obviously you want to exploit a matchup, and if you can split him out and get him the ball, then do that.”
No. 20 also remains a big rush waiting to burst, although there were a few reasons that his per-carry average dipped to a career-low 4.2 yards last year.
Yet he still broke a 42-yard run off his left side in Week 6 against Buffalo and a 57-yard reception (55 YAC) the next week at Pittsburgh. The 57-yarder was of historical significance, since it broke a tie that Hall held with the legendary Freeman McNeil for most 50-yard scrimmage plays by a back in a Jets career. The top five RBs in half-field explosions: