New York Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett strangely didn’t know this about Breece Hall
Nathaniel Hackett had an interesting set of comments about one of the New York Jets’ stars.
On Thursday afternoon, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett spoke about running back Breece Hall and his involvement in the passing game.
“I think that there was a transition for him getting into football shape, missing all of the OTAs and all of the training camp, which you could see how dynamic he was going to be. I don’t think I was ready for him to be as productive as he was in the pass game,” said Hackett.
“I think that’s something that has added a whole dimension to things that we can do, lining up at wide receiver, catching the ball from the backfield, and when he touches the ball, he could score at any time. I think he’s gotten better as the year has gone on, too. I think that’s been great to see, but it would be great to have an offseason and be able to work with him even more and get him involved earlier.”
Hackett then mentioned when Hall showed the ability necessary to be more involved in the passing game.
“That check-down he caught versus the Giants was unbelievable. It really stood out that it wasn’t just check-downs that you wanted to get to, but you wanted to really try to game plan and get him the ball from the backfield. I think he’s done a very good job this year, and excited for the future for him.”
Press conferences can be tricky. Coaches are not always straightforward and often lie to avoid publicly embarrassing players or other personnel. This has happened repeatedly in Robert Saleh’s Jets tenure.
That does not seem to be the case with Hackett’s recent comments.
In a rookie year that only consisted of seven games, Hall already showed high-level receiving ability at the NFL level. Former offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur consistently got Hall passing game looks and even lined up the Iowa State product as a receiver out wide and in the slot.
Would love to see the #Jets tap into Breece Hall's route-running skills more often next year pic.twitter.com/a3UEggdI6T
— Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) January 26, 2023
Breece Hall goes 79 yards to the goal line! @nyjets
📺: #MIAvsNYJ on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/5wEbhQ3nxf pic.twitter.com/3iIbzNeKrg— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2022
How does an offensive coordinator not see what his predecessor saw? How does Hackett not recognize what multiple Jets fans and analysts saw in Hall, who is a dual-threat back with talent matched by few in the league?
Combine the previous answers with Hackett’s 2023 takeaway of” Be ready for change, and change is the norm,” and the answer becomes clear.
The Jets’ current offensive coordinator lacks creativity and an inherent understanding of his personnel. Evidently, he is unwilling to adjust until the answers are right in front of him.
The data backs up the frustration with Hackett, which can be found in this article here.
Aaron Rodgers’s return in 2024 should help the offense in a big way. The future Hall-of-Fame quarterback should help fix the production and execution issues the team saw this season.
But with Hackett still influencing the offense, things are not as optimistic as they could be. If the Jets’ offensive coordinator cannot find a way to improve, he will still be a weight around the proverbial Jets’ neck in 2024.
