Braelon Allen (; born January 20, 2004) is an American professional football running back for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers and was selected by the Jets in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL draft.
Early life Allen attended and played football at Fond du Lac High School, where he reclassified and graduated a year early. Allen wrestled his Freshmen year at Fond du Lac, where he qualified for the state tournament.
College career Allen was rated as a four-star recruit by ESPN, 247Sports.com, and Rivals.com. Allen committed to play football at the University of Wisconsin–Madison on July 14, 2020, the college's first commit for the 2022 class. On September 17, 2020, he announced he would be reclassifying to the 2021 recruiting class to enroll in college early. He was initially recruited as a defensive player, possibly linebacker or safety, before ultimately ending up at running back.
Allen played on special teams only for his first college game. After the team started the season at 1–3, Allen began to see some snaps along with starting tailback Chez Mellusi. Tailback redshirt freshman Jalen Berger left the team and three running backs transferred away from the college. Allen had his first 100-yard rushing performance in the fifth game against Illinois. In early November, Mellusi had a season-ending injury as Allen was established as the team's starting running back. In the 2021 Las Vegas Bowl against Arizona State, Allen rushed for 159 yards and was named the Las Vegas Bowl MVP. On November 28, 2023, Allen announced his intent to enter the 2024 NFL Draft.
Statistics Year Team Games Rushing Receiving GP GS Att Yds Avg TD Rec Yds Avg TD 2021 Wisconsin 12 4 186 1,268 6.8 12 8 39 4.9 0 2022 Wisconsin 12 12 230 1,248 5.4 11 13 104 8.0 0 2023 Wisconsin 11 9 181 984 5.4 12 28 132 4.7 0Career 35 25 597 3,494 5.9 35 49 275 5.6 0
Wisconsin Badgers records Most consecutive games with at least 100 rushing yards, freshman: 7 (2021) Longest rushing touchdown: 96 yards (2022)
Professional career
New York Jets 2024
Allen was selected in the fourth round with the 134th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft by the New York Jets. For a time, Allen was the youngest player in the NFL. In Week 2 against the Tennessee Titans, he scored one rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown for his firsts as a professional. Allen appeared in all 17 games for New York during his rookie campaign, including two starts, and recorded 334 rushing yards, 148 receiving yards, and three total touchdowns.
2025
Allen began the 2025 season as Breece Hall's backup, recording 93 total yards and one touchdown over his first four games of the season. After suffering an MCL injury in Week 4 against the Miami Dolphins, Allen was ruled out for 8-to-12 weeks and placed on injured reserve.
NFL career statistics
Year Team Games Rushing Receiving Fumbles 2024 NYJ 17 0 92 334 3.6 20 2 19 148 7.8 15 1 0 0 2025 NYJ 4 0 18 76 4.2 15 1 2 17 8.5 12 0 1 1 2026 NYJ 2 0 15 47 3.1 9 1 1 8 8.0 8 0 0 0Career 23 2 125 457 3.7 20 4 22 173 7.9 15 1 1 1
References
External links
New York Jets bio Wisconsin Badgers bio