Daeshon Hall, EDGE: Texas A&M’s other pass rusher

Daeshon Hall, EDGE
School: Texas A&M | Conference: SEC
College Experience: Senior | Age: 21
Height / Weight: 6-5 / 266 lbs
Projected Draft Status: 3rd or 4th Round
NFL Comparison: Alex Okafor

College Statistics

Player Overview

Daeshon Hall played on the opposite side of potential number one pick (spoiler alert: Myles Garrett) and is easily overlooked in this draft class of edge rushers. Hall can play standing up or with his hand in the dirt and was used as a 5-tech DE mainly but did play some 9-tech on pass rush packages. Hall has some good traits to work with that make him a successful penetrating edge rusher. He has superb length coming off the edge and decent athleticism which has led to him posting some impressive TFL numbers the past couple of years. He generally has good angles in pursuit and likes to hit. Hall is very raw and has gotten criticism for not producing more sack numbers with Garrett on the other side. What's also interesting from what I’ve read is that some evaluators don’t consider Hall an option at 3-4OLB they like the way he has bulked up while at A&M and he has room to add a lot more. In the NFL Hall could develop into a nice rotational pass rushing end in either base scheme.

Strengths

• Excellent length for the position and decent size. Has room to add more muscle onto his frame to bulk up and play DE in either scheme.
• Can exploit the edge with his quickness as well as the inside gap. And may be better suited to play as an interior rusher off stunts.
• Great pursuit and effort from the strong side. Excellent in clean up duty when the pocket is collapsed from the other side.
• If he wins with his initial quickness he is hard to contain.

Weaknesses

• Clearly learning the nuances and details of the DE position still and should be considered a substantial project.
• Relies too heavily on his strength and athleticism and can ignore technique. Gets stagnant when he doesn't win immediately and needs to use his counter moves more productively.
• Washed out on down blocks against the run making him a liability if he’s defending a gap on the run.
• Needs work in the weight room still to remain more stout when setting the edge.
• Can’t tell if the instincts for the position aren't there yet or if he has poor vision/anticipation. He got fooled a lot on inside runs and can play hesitant at times.

Let’s see his work:

How He Would Fit On The Redskins

Daeshon Hall is another option for the Redskins to bolster the depth of the DL position. The team may be hesitant to spend a high pick on an edge rusher but will need depth going into the season with the suspension of Trent Murphy and the uncertainty around Junior Galette. Hall is a supplemental piece that needs a lot of work before he can be considered a starter in the league imo. Personally, I think he may be over drafted and I think the criticism around his lack of sack production opposite Garrett are right and speak to just how raw he is at the position. It also points to a glaring weakness of his which is that he leaves way too many opportunities on the field and does not finish with the consistency desired.

The potential is there. He has length, strength, flashes of power and violence, decent size and athleticism but he will have to spend a lot of time developing his body, refining his technique and fundamentals, and will go through growing pains to help him maximize his talent as a pass rushing DE. I saw DE here because I think that his best future position. I don't think he has the flexibility or burst to play OLB on a consistent basis unless the team is going to use him as a 9-tech. As a day three pick Daeshon Hall could present some good value as a rotational pass-rushing end to start off but his game is far from complete.