Former Wisconsin Badgers football star running back Braelon Allen finally got to participate in his first-ever NFL regular season game on Monday, as the New York Jets took on the reigning NFC champions San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara.
Most eyes for the game were on Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who made his first appearance since suffering a season-ending Achilles injury in Week 1 of the 2023 NFL campaign. Allen, however, still got some attention despite barely seeing action on the field.
Via RotoWire (h/t CBS Sports):
With a nine-yard catch late in the fourth quarter, Allen became the youngest player to register a touch on offense in the Super Bowl era at 20 years and 233 days. The rookie fourth-round draft pick out of Wisconsin added an eight-yard run on the following play, but he watched Breece Hall amass 21 touches before that point, so Allen’s a distant second on the Jets’ running back depth chart heading into Week 2 against the Titans.
Former Wisconsin Badgers star Braelon Allen makes his mark in limited action
Allen spent most of the night on the bench, watching starter Breece Hall gobble up touches out of the backfield. That was not surprising, as Hall has always been the clear RB1 of the Jets. Still, it was impressive to see Allen turn a couple of touches into several yards even if those occurred when the game was virtually out of New York’s reach.
Allen will just have to be patient as a backup to Hall. At his age, he has plenty of opportunities to learn and carve out a bigger role in the pros.
Allen was selected in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL draft by the Jets.
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