If New York Jets stars Breece Hall or Garrett Wilson were in search of a stamp of approval from someone with credibility around the NFL, they got one without having to campaign for it.
Bill Belichick sings Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson’s praises
Bill Belichick — a six-time Super Bowl champion as head coach of the New England Patriots — recently dished out his own analysis on the Jets and what will make them a scary team to game plan for in 2024. In a teaser for his new upcoming show, “Coach,” the future Hall-of-Fame coach had this to say about the driving force behind his projection, being Hall and Wilson, and what makes both of them so special and important to the Jets’ offense (h/t Brandyn Pokrass of Jets X Factor):
“The Jets are one of the hardest teams to prepare for from a skill standpoint because of Breece Hall. He is an outstanding running back who can take the ball the distance. He is very good in the passing game. Defensively, you want to do everything you can to take the ball out of his hands and load the box,” said Belichick.
“Problem is, if you load the box, you’re singled out there on (Garrett) Wilson. And that’s a tall order right there to deal with him in one-on-one coverage. His run after the catch is exceptional.”
Jets’ Breece Hall established himself as an elite big-gain running back in 2023
Hall is certainly everything that Belichick described him to be. The breakout running back posted an under center carry percentage of 72.2 percent in 2023, which ranked No. 11 among all running backs last season. Further, his 11 breakaway runs (No. 11), 77 evaded tackles (No. 1 overall), and 80 percent catch rate (No. 17) showed who he is as a rusher who can generate big runs and deliver as a pass-catcher as well.
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Jets: Garrett Wilson will open the offense with his dynamic abilities after the catch
Belichick made a fair assessment of Wilson too. Seeing the Jets’ featured wideout in man coverage had to have been a dread on the schedule for any opposing defensive back. Wilson had a 29.7 percent target rate in man coverage last season, which ranked No. 10 at his position. Further, his 43.8 percent win rate in man coverage came in at No. 17 overall. More impressive than his league-wide rankings, which are noteworthy in and of themselves, are his raw percentages.
Further, the soon-to-be third-year pass-catcher’s ability to make something happen after coming down with the football is special. His 15.2 percent juke rate came in at No. 4 in the NFL, and that largely factored into him producing 327 receiving yards after the catch on the 2023 campaign. He, along with Hall’s superb breakaway ability, will open up the Jets’ offense and position them to light up the league en route to a hopeful Super Bowl berth next winter.
