2023 NFL Draft: Derick Hall - Auburn Edge Rusher
Derick Hall - Auburn
Strengths:
1. Edge Versatility - Hall has the potential to develop into an every down edge defender. He shows potential in the run game, although he needs a bit of work penetrating gaps and shedding blocks. He has reps winning both with speed and power in the pass rush, although his speed to power still needs work, and looks comfortable dropping back in coverage. He is a fluid mover with excellent pursuit skills and open-field speed, and just an all-around solid 3-4 edge.
2. Pursuit - A combination of burst, speed, fluidity in the open field, and effort makes Hall excellent in pursuit of scrambling quarterbacks and half backs on outside runs. He even has reps chasing down receivers from behind. His 4.5 speed shows up on tape.
3. Agility - His feet are remarkably quick for the position, and he has excellent lateral movement skills when needed. Winning through stunts and quick lateral bursts have not been as big a part of his game as they should be. If he gains some technique with his hands, then he could develop into an excellent speed rusher.
Weaknesses:
1. Bad Habits - This could be a good thing overall because a good coach may be able to rectify many of his bad habits. In the run game, he often leads shoulder first, bumping the blocker and effectively taking himself out of the game. He has shown the ability to pull off of blocks when in the right position, so this may be rectified. In the pass rush, he has a drop step, a false step, and slows himself down before contact. If a coach can fix his release and teach him how to use his impressive burst and movement skills effectively, then he could be significantly more impactful. Fundamental technique is more difficult to rectify, but breaking these habits should be easier.
2. Speed to Power - There are some reps where he uses his burst effectively in power rushes, but they are few and far between. He will slow down before contact at times, and even seeks to avoid contact with the linemen on some reps altogether. The reps are there to prove that it can be done, but he has a lot of work to do if he is going to succeed against better offensive tackles.
3. Stagnant Hands - His hands tend to linger in the same spot a bit too long. He is slow to perform an arm-over, pull off blocks, and hold extension without moving in his bull-rushes a bit too long. His hands can be fast when he wants, but they are a bit stagnant after contact at times.
Grade: Late Second
Pro Comparison: Julian Okwara
Hall is much larger coming out, and Okwara uses his length better. Aside from that, they have similar traits and attributes.
Film Notes:
Penn State (09/17/2022)
A bit too upright on bull, which was otherwise moderately effective. Huge false step, slow off line. Actively grabs outside of shoulder pads of the tackle. Stopped in tracks on power rush. Did not try to shoot gap, but appropriately patient. Not good play strength, but good balance and agility around OT to make tackle. Pushes off right leg. Does not win with strength whatsoever. Completely locked with feet in place. False step, but excellent burst with good speed to power. Excellent burst off edge. Great pursuit back to make tackle after pass. Clearly very fast. Arm over attempt was decent technically. Got full extension to upper chest of tackle. Lines up occasionally as a linebacker. Excellent pursuit on mobile quarterback. Good stature when expecting run play. Good body fluidity and burst on the outside, but rarely winning reps outright. Drop step lost power. Needs work with speed to power. Quick first step with excellent burst when footwork is clean. Needs to use his burst to make quicker moves. Not the best at pulling off blocks in the run game. Quick feet. Looks comfortable dropping back. Good coverage pickup on RB. Approaches many blocks in run defense poorly, putting his head down and leading with his shoulder. Fast arm motions on rip when he committed. Up against Olu Fashanu on many reps. Took too long to shoot the gap. Occasionally looks as if he avoids collisions. Good extension, but slow on the rip. Quick feet and hands, but unrefined pass rush moves.
Ole Miss (10/15/2022)
Excellent speed to sideline. Great burst on first step. Again, good speed to sideline on outside run, but did not wrap up. A bit too hesitant to rush the quarterback while the half back was on the swing, but effective once he committed. Good power from leg drive without much momentum, and good closing speed. Mirrored quarterback very well to make the stop. Good lateral movement to penetrate up middle. Locked in run game. Great lateral burst inside. Good play awareness. Drops back often. Did not commit to closing on the quarterback. Great open field running form in pursuit. Quick feet laterally into excellent speed to power. Lower effort on a couple of run plays. Tackling technique could be improved. Excellent closing speed. Great job getting off block for tackle. Did not pull off block in time, but still chased down running back. High effort chase downs that many other edge players would not even attempt. Great burst off the edge, straight line speed, and effort on every passing down. Typically reads play well and knows when to rush versus pick up half back in coverage.
Missouri (09/24/202)
Fast in pursuit. Great angle to take down scrambling quarterback. Good commitment. Quick feet. Decent strength at the line, but did not convert speed into power at contact point. Stagnant hands in bull. Late to pull off block. Pushed around in run game. Put shoulder into block as he does. Interception. Comfortable in open space. Tackle squared him up. Got pushed over twice on inside attempt. Excellent three step change of direction with textbook technique. Good foot speed. Stood up and lost all power immediately. Appeared lost trying to pull off of the block. Incredible change of direction to get around the tackle without using his hands to make the sack. Blitzed from off-ball, but froze against guard. Led with shoulder again. It worked this time, but will not at the NFL level. He has to break this habit. Very quick hands and nice subtle movements to follow up with TFL. displayed okay bend, but would be better if he used his length. He really does not have many reps winning with length despite having 35" arms.
A/B-Gap - Will not play inside.
4/5-Tech - Does not line up in three point stance. He is much better suited to play from the edge.
Edge - This is where Hall will spend the majority of his career.
Off-Ball - Hall actually has the skillset to play off-ball linebacker. He will be primarily a 3-4 edge, but he can move comfortably around the field when mixing up fronts. He has the movement and pursuit skills to drop back when required as well as gap shoot.
Attributes (Grade/10):
Attributes | Bend | 7 |
Burst | 9 | |
Motor | 4.5 |
Bend: Does not currently use bend as well as he could. If he utilized his impressive length to maintain separation from the tackle when taking the edge, he has the athleticism and movement skills to have incredible bend around the outside.
Burst: When there are no false or drop steps, his first step is excellent. He has quick feet, and can accelerate out of a two point stance suddenly. He has the burst and speed to chase down mobile quarterbacks, which is becoming more vital in the NFL. He needs work converting his speed to power after showing that it is not as effective against elite college offensive tackles such as Olu Fashanu, but that will not affect this burst grade all that much.
Motor: He has little motor when rushing the passer once contact is made. His feet occasionally stop moving, which mitigates his greatest strength as a pass rusher. He does not give up on plays, showing that he is willing to break into full stride and run down receivers. Hall has great energy on almost every play, he just does not seem to understand how to play physically at this point in his young career.
Skillset | Pass Rush | 7.5 |
Run Defense | 6 | |
Coverage | 8 |
Pass Rush: His primary skill is as a pass rusher. There is just a lot that needs refinement.
Run Defense: Typically useless against inside runs, but his ability to disrupt outside runs and get to the running back in the backfield on the outside is a 10/10. He has incredible speed to the sideline, and can chase down scrambling quarterbacks.
Coverage: Hall looks extremely comfortable in coverage. He even can man the half back when asked.
Hands | Placement | 6 |
Effectiveness | 3.5 | |
Quickness | 7.5 |
Placement: It appears that he knows where to put his hands most of the time, but then is unsure what to do once they are there.
Effectiveness: His hands do not really do all that much in the majority of his pass rush plays that assist him in any capacity.
Quickness: His hands can be quick initially, but then they lock in place on many reps and fail to contribute to the pass rush. He could put more effort into having faster hand motions throughout a play.
Line Control | Strength | 4 |
Balance | 7.5 |
Strength: He lacks strength at the line, especially when squared with opposing lineman.
Balance: Literally got pushed over backwards in the Missouri game, but overall balance is not much of a concern. He will get bullied up the middle, but has the balance to finish moves around the outside.
Pass-Rush Decisions | Versatility | 3 |
Technique | 3.5 | |
Execution | 6 |
Versatility: He only wins with pure athleticism. He has no real pass rush moves of which to speak. As with most of these grades, I expect this area to improve drastically with NFL coaching and experience. He just will not enter the NFL with a diverse arsenal of pass rush moves.
Technique: He usually has good pad level, but that is the extent of his technique. He is as raw as they come as an edge rusher.
Traits | Agility | 9.5 |
Athleticism | 9 | |
Length | 9.5 |
Agility: Hall has tremendous agility, but he does not use it as much as he should. If he can work with a coach that can teach him pure speed rush moves, then he could become a solid pass rusher in the NFL. His open field change of direction is exceptional, especially at his size.
Athleticism: He has everything he needs athletically. His burst, movement skills, and speed are incredible. He just needs help putting it all together on the field.
Full Report:
Derick Hall is an electric prospect with all of the desired tools from the edge. He has excellent burst, open field speed, movement skills, and is even comfortable dropping back into coverage. He has insanely long arms for his size, and puts high energy into every play. He has seemingly every quality about him that cannot be taught. The main reason he is not a first round prospect is because of his plethora of bad habits. When locked up in a pass rush, Hall occasionally stops moving his legs altogether. He slows down before contact after his initial burst on many plays, mitigating his speed to power. His hands, although quick, are wildly ineffective on many plays. He has such unbelievable movement skills that he can pressure the quarterback without using his hands on the opposing lineman altogether. Imagine what he could do if he used his 35" arms to his advantage. Other poor tendencies are dipping his shoulder into contact without using his arms, false or drop stepping on many plays, and delaying moves to pull off of blocks for far too long. All of these tendencies can be corrected, but it will take good coaching to do so. With all of his speed in pursuit, movement skills, and natural athletic ability, Hall should be a first round prospect. Unfortunately, he is coming into the NFL as an unpolished pass rusher without much of a prowess in the inside run game. He truly is an edge setter who can chase down scrambling quarterbacks, halfbacks on outside runs, and even wide receivers from behind, but he does not have most of the fundamentals down. He has the versatility to drop back in coverage and be a rotational pass rusher off the bat, with the burst and athletic profile to develop into an excellent well-rounded 3-4 outside linebacker who can win with both speed and power. Poor coaching will be detrimental to Hall's career with him being raw in so many areas, but good coaching could turn him into something special.
NFL Projection:
Hall will spend his rookie campaign seeing limited playing time as a rotational pass rusher. He will earn a starting role as a 3-4 outside linebacker after one or two years of NFL experience. If he can land with a coach who can mold him into a technical pass rusher, then the sky is the limit for Derick Hall.
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