‘I Was Just Getting Started’

The next week, at Denver, Hall seemed to pick up where he left off at Lambeau Field, shredding the Broncos for 72 yards on only 4 carries in a mere 12 plays. And then, Hall’s promising rookie season was over. He felt a pop in a knee, which was determined to be a torn ACL. The Jets left Colorado with a 5-2 record. Even though he missed the remainder of the season, Hall finished as the Jets leading rusher with 463 rushing yards on 80 carriers and had 218 yards on 19 pass receptions.

Over the course of the season, Hall notched two of the Green & White’s five longest rushing plays (25-plus yards): the 62-yard TD run at Denver and the 34-yard TD run at Green Bay.

Last week Hall, to the surprise of the “Super Bowl Live” panel, Hall said that he felt his limited time in the NFL felt easier than his time playing in college for the Cyclones.

“I felt like really I was just starting to get settled in and the game started slowing down for me,” Hall said. “That’s what resulted in me making those big plays. And just seeing how some guys really don’t want to come down and tackle, which was making it easier for me.

“I think it was a little bit easier for me than in college because in college teams were playing for mostly me and Brock. So in the NFL, guys have to game plan for the whole team.”

Hall’s statistics jump off the page: He led all rookies when he averaged 97.3 yards a game, gaining 5.8 yards a carry. According to Pro Football Focus, he was No. 2 in yards (4.13) gained per carry after contact (based on 70 minimum carries among 59 running backs) and according to Next Gen Stats was No. 1 league-wide in rushing yards over expected per carry (1.49).

“A legit potential rock star,” said Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. “Like truly an excellent player and my guess is he would have been the Offensive Rookie of the Year had he not gotten injured.”

Perhaps. Consider that Purdy, the final selection in last year’s draft, also played in only seven games but was among the top three candidates…