Braelon Allen was a popular prospect ahead of last year’s NFL Draft, but unfortunately got stuck behind Breece Hall with the New York Jets. Following an up-and-down rookie year, is Allen positioned to be the primary Hall handcuff for 2025 fantasy football?
Braelon Allen Fantasy Outlook
Allen is a great example of the overconfidence of fantasy managers in drafting handcuffs. The primary argument against handcuffing your running backs is twofold. First, very few backup running backs are capable of producing anywhere near the level of the starter. Second, we are far worse than we think at predicting who exactly will benefit from an injury to the starter.
I will be the first to admit I had Allen pegged as one of the better handcuffs of the 2024 season. The Jets lacked a clear RB2, and Allen was a pretty solid prospect with early Day 3 draft capital.
Braelon Allen went 186-1268-12 as a 17 year old freshman at Wisconsin. #Jets beat reporters have said he’s the clean RB2 behind Breece for months now. Went 6-54-0 in preseason debut Saturday. pic.twitter.com/MANLhY1S25
— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) August 12, 2024
Things were looking good in the beginning. As early as Week 2, Allen started seeing an increase in playing time. From Weeks 2-6, Allen averaged 10.25 opportunities per game. That’s not an insignificant workload for a rookie backing up what many believed to be one of the best running backs in the NFL.
Surely, if Hall ever missed a game, Allen would step right into the starter’s role and be a must-start in fantasy. He won’t produce quite at Hall’s level, but he’d at least be a strong RB2.
Hall wound up missing the Jets’ Week 14 game. Allen got the start, but he was in a near-even timeshare with fellow rookie Isaiah Davis. Both saw exactly 11 opportunities, but it was Davis who was the better fantasy start, as he was the one to score. Fantasy managers stashed Allen all season and got one week of 12.3 fantasy points (no one started him in Week 2 when he stole two Hall touchdowns and scored his season high of 19.6).
MORE: Free Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator
This year, Allen enters the season as the RB2 behind Hall. However, his ADP is RB53, while Davis is down at RB83. I’m not saying I’m out here ranking Davis and Allen the same, or that anyone should draft Davis. But if Hall were to miss time, what reason do we have to think the outcome would be any different?
Now, that’s the argument against Allen as a clear handcuff to Hall. There is another compelling reason to draft Allen far ahead of Davis. There’s a legitimate chance Allen has some standalone value.
Why #Jets players can’t stop throwing shade at the last coaching staff, and other lessons learned from training camp so far (including why I think the RB room is more 1A/1B with Breece Hall and Braelon Allen than 1-2): https://t.co/RTtR0uOEJ2
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) July 30, 2025
I have Allen ranked at RB45, considerably above consensus. While Allen’s upside feels more speculative than a lot of the guys around him, I am open to a world where he ends up being a 40% snap share player with goal line work, giving him standalone RB3 value. Therefore, he’s more valuable than the pure handcuffs.
Cameron Sheath’s Braelon Allen Fantasy Projection
Braelon Allen could see an uptick in opportunities in 2025, as the power option and potential goal-line back for the Jets. Breece Hall will remain the team’s starter and should push for a top-10 finish in 2025, but Allen is a potential sleeper in the late rounds.
New York’s decision to sign Justin Fields in March suggests that the run game will be the focal point of the Jets’ offense this year. The team’s lack of receiving options behind Garrett Wilson, and the decision to draft an offensive lineman on Day 1 of April’s draft are also clues.
While not a 1A/1B situation in New York, Allen should have a more solid role this season, beyond simply giving Breece Hall a rest. New HC Aaron Glenn has talked up his young running back’s power, highlighting the variation that he and Hall offer. That would suggest that Allen will have specific plays assigned to him.Â
With OC Tanner Engstrand following Glenn from Detroit, it’s difficult to avoid David Montgomery comparisons. Allen has shot up to the 13th round of drafts and could produce significant fantasy production in an expanded role in 2025.
