Breece Hall Finally Gets His Recognition in NFL World Even Though Christian McCaffrey Takes Top Spot

Breece Hall will be starting his third NFL season; however, he is still younger than most rookies who joined the league in the past two years. At 23 years old, the Jets’ ball carrier has emerged as one of the best backs in the NFL, proving wrong those who initially undervalued his talent. Before the 2024 season, Hall also checked off another item from his bucket list after a new ranking of the best running backs placed him second, just behind Christian McCaffrey.

In this new ranking, prepared by ESPN with input from executives, scouts, and coaches, Hall finally received the recognition he deserved. It marks a significant improvement from last year, when the Iowa State alum didn’t even make the top 10. However, now, according to their assessment, Hall is among the best running backs under 25, with immense potential and a high ceiling.

Many high-ranking officials praised his running style, highlighting his ability to evade tackles and naturally navigate through holes. They described Hall as a powerful weapon, capable of handling a heavy workload with great vision and explosiveness.

However, this is not surprising, given the marked improvement in his stats from his rookie year, rushing for nearly 1000 yards behind the worst Offensive Line in the NFL.

That said, the list places the new Madden cover athlete, Christian McCaffrey, at the top. He is head and shoulders above everyone else, putting up over 2000 yards from scrimmage, which includes a league-best 1459 yards on 272 carries. He was by far the best player on the grisiron in Super Bowl LVIII, tallying 160 scrimmage yards with one touchdown.

Nick Chubb, who spent the entire season on the sidelines with an ACL tear, still took the 3rd spot, followed by Eagles’ new weapon in Saquon Barkley. Jonathan Taylor, Bijan Robinson, Josh Jacobs, Jahmyr Gibbs, Derrick Henry, and Travis Ettiene make the top 10 in this order.

Arguably, Hall has finally gotten the love and recognition he deserves. Likewise, this sentiment was echoed by most fans; however, a few expressed their reservations about him and the list as a whole.

Fans React to ESPN’s List of Best Rushers, Which Placed Hall at 2nd

The majority of fans felt that this ranking was well-deserved and expressed optimism that Breece Hall will claim the top spot next year. However, some questioned why the back is rated so highly, arguing that he only appeared impressive due to the Jets’ struggling offense, which allowed him to stand out. They asserted that he shouldn’t be anywhere near the top five.

A few critics also questioned the inclusion of Chubb, Barkley, Jacobs, and Henry in the top ten, arguing that these players significantly struggled last season and are only included in the list based on their past performances. One fan even commented that this is an appalling list and that the only thing ESPN got right is placing McCaffrey at the top spot. See for yourselves:

Another chimed in and added,

A user commented,

Someone pointed out,

Yet another said,

It’s heartening to see that the running back position is finally getting some recognition, but the next step should be ensuring they get the compensation they deserve. Running backs used to be royalty in the NFL, but now they’ve become easily disposable, with quarterbacks and wide receivers taking the lion’s share of the salary cap.

While McCaffrey is set to $19 million a year, which is a substantial salary for a running back, it pales in comparison to even the salaries of the poorest and average quarterbacks.