Breece Hall Sells Himself, Jets Short With 2026 Goals

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Hall-of-Fame NBA power forward Charles Barkley had an interesting saying about good players on bad teams.

“When you're a great player on a bad team, it's mentally deflating," Barkley said in an interview in 2023. "It's tough to go play every single night and know you are going to lose."

Barkley's comment about excelling on losing teams could be seen as a worthy comparison to New York Jets stars Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall. The two former draft picks of the 2022 draft class have played well in their early starts to their careers. Hall recorded a 1,000-yard rushing season for the first time last year, while Wilson was the first Jets receiver in team history to record 1,000 receiving yards in three straight years.

The common denominator for both is they each hasn't been able to turn into a winner despite each player's success. And for Hall, that has brought about a set of goals that allow him to compete with Wilson.

The problem is that those goals are the wrong way to look at the upcoming season.

Hall's goals set wrong target for 2026

There's always been healthy competition between Wilson and Hall. The two stars have each shared the title of best offensive player on the roster going into each season they've been together. It also has them thinking of each other as they set goals.

"I definitely think coming into this year, for me it's the same, I want to go out there and essentially I'm competing with Garrett," Hall said. "Who's gonna be the best player on our offense? That's how I think every day. Obviously, that's my brother and we support each other to the fullest. But for us, it's like, we're always in this mini competition."

Hall's goals are dangerously misguided, though. They highlight the exact reason why the Jets have failed over the last 15 years.

Hall should not be competing with his teammate to find out who the best player on the team is. It takes away from New York's push to build a consistent winner. He should want to be more than just the best offensive player on the Jets. And the same goes for Wilson.

By capping themselves as pushing to be the best player on the Jets roster, Hall and Wilson are essentially competing in a low form.

After all, what does it say about the best player on a team that won just three games the year prior, essentially managing goals lower than what might be?

Time will tell if the Jets offense will be explosive this season. They have all the pieces needed to excel, but putting them all together will be the challenge. But it's up to both Wilson and Hall to elevate their games in their own right. If not, they end up being good players on bad teams.

And it essentially caps their upside when compared to other players around the league as well. New York's stars can't be competing with each other. They need to compete with the other top players around the league.

Anything less is disappointing for the organization going forward.

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