How Seahawks’ Derick Hall has emerged in second season

There’s been plenty of frustration with the Seattle Seahawks’ defensive performance this season, but one of a few positives has been the emergence of young pass rusher Derick Hall.

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Hall, Seattle’s leader in sacks through six weeks, was a second-round pick in 2023 and had a relatively quiet rookie season. But that changed this year. He made noise in training camp and in preseason games, but was finally able to translate that to the field on Sundays.

It’s in part due to missed time from veteran players like Uchenna Nwosu, who began the season on the sideline with a knee injury. But for Hall, it’s also been the result of months and months of hard work.

“Last year I played a little bit heavy, so the biggest thing to me was dropping five to eight pounds, getting back down to about 260. It’s just been night and day in that aspect. And then just being able to build my body up,” Hall told Michael Bumpus, Stacy Rost and Dave Wyman on Thursday’s edition of The Huddle.

“I thought I knew what taking care of my body was, but I really didn’t. That entails messages, cryotherapy chamber, dry needling. Doing everything you can to make yourself available Sunday.”

It’s certainly a grind. One of Hall’s least favorite parts of the process is acupuncture, which can be painful at times. But the reward so far has been worth it. And in addition to the work he’s putting in off the field, he’s adding to his technique on game day.

Are there things he’s allowed to do more of now that he’s a second-year player?

“For sure,” Hall said. “Number one, just rushing. Last year I felt like I restricted myself a little bit and what I can do is just power and power and power and just continue to use power, and now coming in this year and being able to see what to expect and talk to other guys, communicate, it comes back down to trust to rush off each other.”

Hall has five sacks (a team high) in four starts, along with two forced fumbles and 10 quarterback hits (tied for first). He’s on pace for a double-digit sack season, which would be the first for any Seahawk since Frank Clark and Jarran Reed both notched double-digit sacks in 2018. The closest since then? Uchenna Nwosu and Darrell Taylor with 9.5 in 2022, and before that, safety Jamal Adams with 9.5 in 2020.

Go ball, @derick_hall9. 🏹 pic.twitter.com/VkfiKYBLgR

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) September 24, 2024

Seattle was a top-10 team in total sacks last season, but those have come in bunches; the Seahawks have been far more inconsistent with pressures. That changed earlier this year, with Seattle among the league’s pressure leaders through three weeks. But, like most other things with this defense, it’s taken a hit in a three-game losing streak. Still, there are 11 games to get right and plenty of time for Hall and others to build.

Perhaps more of those sacks come Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. If and when they do, Hall didn’t hesitate to answer which teammate gets most excited.

“Leo. Leo(nard) Williams for sure. No matter the circumstance,” Hall said. “He’s the big guy who’s always there for everyone.”

The Falcons run defense isn’t good, but Atlanta fans are all focused on something else

The Falcons are giving up nearly as many rushing yards per game (142) as the Seahawks this year (144), which would seem like the primary concern. Only it’s not.

“The run defense is not good,” 92.9 The Game’s Andy Bunker told The Huddle. “But the pass rush is so bad that’s really all anyone’s talking about. And it’s been so bad for years now that it’s just feels like a rinse and repeat conversation every single year. The Falcons have less sacks in the last five years than any team in the NFL. They were worst in the NFL in two of the last three years.”

Atlanta has five sacks through six games this year, which is worst in the league. Its trade for Matthew Judon hasn’t provided the help they were hoping, mostly because they were also looking for contributions from rookie and former UW Huskies standout Bralen Trice, per Bunker, but he landed on the injured reserve in August with a knee issue.

The Seahawks have allowed more sacks (19) than all but three teams in the league, and more than any opponent faced by the Falcons this season. But Seattle’s offensive line will also be facing its most favorable matchup yet.

And as desperate as the Seahawks are for a win, Falcons fans are ready to stop seeing the same issue they’ve witnessed for years.

“If they can’t get any sacks against this Seahawks offensive line, they need to get very serious about the trade market,” Bunker said.

Listen to the full conversation with Seattle Seahawks outside linebacker Derick Hall at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to The Huddle every Thursday from noon-2 p.m. when the Seahawks play on Sundays. Find the full conversation with 92.9 The Game’s Andy Bunker here or in the audio player near the bottom of this story.

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