Meet the Rookies: Braelon Allen

July 1, 2024

In the 4th round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the New York Jets selected running back Braelon Allen to help complete the running back room in New York.

The 20-year-old running back completed his High School career in 2021 as a 4-star recruit with 5 offers and being the 3rd-ranked player out of Wisconsin from Fond du Lac High School committing to Wisconsin to play football. When Braelon Allen got to Wisconsin he bursted on the scene quickly as a true freshman rushing for 1,268 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 6.8 yards per attempt. When his sophomore year rolled around he nearly replaced his freshman year with 1,242 rushing yards, and 11 touchdowns on 230 attempts. In his 3rd and final year of college, Allen racked in 984 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 5.4 yards per attempt and was named second-team all-Big 10 for the 3rd straight year.

As a prospect Braelon was one of the top running backs in this draft class being a consensus top 5 running back in lots of prospect rankings. In the scouting process, Allen was praised for his athletic size, short-yardage run capability, good protection against the blitz, and ability to run after contact. However, like every player he had some downsides, he was known to have tight hips, carrying the ball away from his body leading to fumbles, slow to accelerate after a cut, and lacked lateral freedom. In the Wisconsin pro-day Braelon came off as strong, getting 26 reps on the bench press and measuring at 235 pounds and standing at 6”1’, even though he did not run the 40-yard dash he has an estimated 4.40-yard dash.

On April 27th the Jets selected Braelon Allen with the 134th pick for depth at the running back position. Allen is joining star running back Breece Hall, second-year running back Izzy Abanikanda, and rookie Isaiah Davis for the 2024 season.