Early Braelon Allen Buzz Proves Jets' RB2 Competition Is His to Lose

One of the more underrated position battles that New York Jets fans should be paying attention to at training camp is at RB2 between Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis.

Allen and Davis have a lot to prove heading into their third year, as both guys are competing for the top backup job behind Breece Hall, who was inked to a three-year, $43.5 million extension in May.

Between the two running backs, one could argue that Allen has more pressure on him this summer, given he was taken higher (No. 134 overall, 4th round) in the 2023 NFL Draft than Davis (No. 173 overall, 5th round), was the more accomplished player coming out of college, and is coming off an injury-shortened 2025 season.

Allen was limited to four games due to an MCL sprain, which allowed Davis to showcase his skills and talents at the RB2 behind Hall. That said, it seems like Allen has turned the page, as the former fourth-round pick is bigger (close to 250 pounds) and already looking good to start training camp, per Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic.

Braelon Allen is starting off training camp on the right foot

When Jets fans heard that Allen was looking good, some proceeded with caution, while others were stoked, furthering their belief that he had enough talent to play at this level, but injuries have done him in.

Anytime you take a running back like Allen, who ran for 3,494 yards and 35 touchdowns on the ground in college, you wonder if that production will ever amount to anything in the NFL.

In Allen’s case, it hasn’t yet, as he has 410 rushing yards and three touchdowns across 21 games. It also doesn’t help that he plays behind Hall, who’s a legitimate three-down back, and he’s sharing time with Davis. Not to mention, head coach Aaron Glenn wants to lean more into a running back-by- committee system for this upcoming season.

Needless to say, training camp and preseason will be important for Allen to re-establish himself in the backfield against Davis, who can do a little bit of everything on the field and is already turning heads early on in camp.

However, what works in Allen’s favor is that he’s a different style of running back than Davis. The former Wisconsin Badger is a bruising running back, which he’s leaned into by adding weight to his frame.

At OTAs in June, Allen made this admission while also telling reporters this is the best he’s ever felt, which could be viewed as a good sign heading into the season.

“The biggest I’ve ever been, the strongest, the fastest I’ve ever been. So I got to give a lot of credit to the staff here,” Allen said (h/t Jets OnSI’s Nick Faria). “I mean this is quite literally the best I’ve ever felt.”

If we take Allen at his word from OTAs, and based on his start to training camp, he’ll put himself in a great position to win the RB2 job this month. However, he can’t take his foot off the gas, as the Jets are also excited about Davis and his ability to impact the game.

These next few weeks will be fascinating to watch from Florham Park, NJ. Allen can show why the Jets made the right decision to draft him a few years ago and not select a running back in the 2026 draft.

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