The recollections and stories about seeing Braelon Allen on a football field for the first time follow a near identical trajectory.
There is the initial impression of a youngster with an impressive physique, followed by an emphatic realization.
In 2021, the rookie running back was just a 17-year-old who had skipped his senior year of high school to join the Wisconsin Badgers early.
Joe Tippmann, the second-year Jets center, was on that Badgers team as well and blocked for Allen for two seasons before the two were reunited as teammates this year.
“I remember him showing up, he was 17 years old, he was someone who was supposed to be going into his senior year and then reclassified, nobody knew what that meant,” Tippmann said on Monday. “Him walking in, we’re like, ‘Alright, whatever, this guy thinks he can just skip his senior year of football,’ and then first practice we step out there and I think he ran over three or four dudes. Immediately, everything switched. It was like, ‘I really like this guy.’ ”
Fast forward three years, and Jets head coach Robert Saleh’s early takeaways sound eerily similar.
“I would say once we put the pads on, he separated himself,” Saleh said on Friday. “It was clear that we had to get this dude on the field. Because when you see him without pads it’s one thing. You saw the smoothness out the backfield in the pass game, you saw the soft hands. You recognized his knowledge and protections and how smart he is, but once we put the pads on, it was a whole new level of football, so he’s earned it and we’ll continue to build it.”
Allen, still just 20 years old and the youngest player in the NFL this year, is quickly forcing his way into a major offensive role despite being a fourth-round pick.
The Jets drafted another running back, Isaiah Davis, in the fifth round, and last year added Israel Abanikanda in the fifth round.
But Allen has emerged as the clear No. 2 behind Breece Hall.
Allen has recorded 96 rushing yards for a touchdown — averaging a stellar 5.1 yards-per-attempt — and has also added six catches for 45 yards and another touchdown.
He owns an 83.6 overall grade from Pro Football Focus — third-highest among all running backs.
Listed at 6-foot-1 and 235 pounds, Allen looks more like a linebacker than a traditional running back.
He wasn’t exactly a secret, either — Allen rushed for 3,494 yards and 35 touchdowns across three seasons at Wisconsin, a school with a strong reputation for producing NFL-caliber running backs.
So how’d he last until the fourth round, as the 10th running back selected in the draft?
Allen responded to a fan on X who asked that, saying, “everyone wanted to see me run in my underwear to decide if I was a good football player.”
It was in reference to the 40-yard dash, which Allen opted not to run at either the NFL Combine or Wisconsin’s pro day as he continued to rehab an ankle injury.
Allen’s selection did not stray far off most projections, though.
David Syvertsen, a lead scout for Ourlads Scouting Services, had a fourth-round grade for Allen.
There was plenty of intrigue due to his age, size and production, but Syvertsen’s biggest gripe was Allen not consistently playing to that size and strength.
Through three games in the NFL, however, Allen has shown an ability to lower his shoulder and bulldoze defenders.
“It’s actually bringing me back to 2009-10 with the Jets,” Syvertsen told The Post. “In 2009, rookie Shonn Greene comes out of Iowa and pairs with Thomas Jones, with LaDainian Tomlinson in 2010. And those are the years, they had that one-two punch in the backfield with both a veteran and a rookie that got them to AFC Championships. It’s an ideal complement, and it’s a great way to keep your No. 1 back fresh for down the stretch.”
So far, Allen has certainly been the thunder to Hall’s lightning.
He is averaging 4.11 yards-after-contact-per-attempt — sixth-best among all running backs with at least 10 rushes.
“Breece is out there making those cuts, making people miss and then Braelon comes in and he runs right over them,” Tippmann said. “I think it opens it up both for himself and for Breece to be able to make those plays further down the field, because those safeties that are stepping up, they’re gonna be more scared to hit.”
