Huard: New Seahawks staff must get ‘a whole lot more’ from Derick Hall
Mar 1, 2024, 1:09 PM
Derick Hall of the Seattle Seahawks reacts on Oct. 29, 2023. (Jane Gershovich/Getty Images)
(Jane Gershovich/Getty Images)
The Seattle Seahawks had a ton of early-round draft picks last year, and they used that to add a lot of talent to both sides of the ball.
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With their first of two second-round picks, the Seahawks drafted a very toolsy edge rusher in Auburn’s Derick Hall, who is 6 foot 3 and 255 pounds and ran a 4.55-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine before going 37th overall to Seattle.
A two-time All-SEC selection, Hall was expected to be a key part of the Seahawks’ pass rush rotation. He didn’t do much as a rookie, though.
Now, Hall enters Year 2 with an entirely new coaching staff as Pete Carroll is gone and Mike Macdonald is the Hawks’ new head coach.
Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard really wants the Seahawks’ new coaching staff to get more out of Hall this season.
“Derick showed you nothing last year,” Huard said. “I mean out of the 17 games, there were like two or three plays were like, ‘Oh, OK.’ There was a stunt he came on and then he blew up an edge a couple times.”
But despite being healthy for all 17 games, Hall had no sacks, five QB hits and three tackles for loss.
Overall, it was almost — and I hate to say this — but impact-wise it was L.J. Collier-esque where you’re just like, ‘Come on, man,'” Huard said.
Collier, Seattle’s first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, never lived up to that billing during his time with the Seahawks as he struggled to make an impact on the defensive line.
“Now L.J. was a first-round (pick), late first-round, projected by many to be a late second- or a third-round (pick). And there just was never the pop,” Huard said. “Derick is different. L.J. was a tweener. Not really quick and twitchy enough to be an end, not really big enough frame to be a D-tackle. Derick Hall’s frame, I mean unlock that, please. Because that’s 255 (pounds) and it is a brick house, and he is twitchy and there’s more there.”
Getting more production from Hall must be a priority for the Seahawks, Huard aid.
“If it’s ‘find a way’ here, it’s ‘chasing edges’ there. Chase that edge, chase that edge, gain an edge, set an edge,” Huard said. “Come on, Derick Hall. You were a high second-round pick with a lot of other talent around you. They’ve got to find a way to get a whole lot more from him.”
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