NFL Draft 2018 Scouting Report: DT P.J. Hall, Sam Houston State

*DL grades can and will change as more information comes in from Pro Day workouts, leaked Wonderlic test results, etc. We will update ratings as new info becomes available.

There’s only one reason why a guy who didn’t even get invited to the NFL Combine or Senior Bowl made it to ‘first’ on our list of DT prospects to report out on – in fact, I rushed this report as soon as the news hit. It’s all about P.J. Hall’s Pro Day.

 -- a reported 4.75+ 40-time, some saying in the 4.6s…doing so at 308-pounds. Even with some ‘Pro Day fluff factor’ that’s a stunning time for a man that large.

 -- 36 reps on the bench is outstanding, and so is a 38.0” vertical at 300+ pounds

I show only one other DT prospect over 300+ pounds in the history of tracking data that had a 38”+ vertical and that was the one-time superstar, ruined with a huge contract, ‘troubled mentally’ DT Albert Haynesworth. J.J. Watt wasn’t this big and fast (he was 290 pounds, 4.81 40-time, 37.0” vertical).

We are talking about a freak of nature here with P.J. Hall.

Now, sometimes there are defensive tackle freaks of nature, like Dontari Poe (340+ pounds, 4.98 40-time, 44 bench reps) but then you look at their college careers and they did absolutely nothing. That’s not the case with Hall. He almost won the FCS Jerry Rice Award (Freshman of the Year) as a defensive player with a debut season of 93 tackles, 24.0 TFLs, and 12 sacks…4 forced fumbles and 5 blocked kicks.

He amassed 86.5 TFLs over his career with 42.0 sacks. Over his career, he forced 9 fumbles…he picked off 4 passes…he set a record with 14 career blocked kicks. Suffice it to say – Hall didn’t disappoint at the FCS level.

So, you have a freak show Pro Day and an all-time stat producer, albeit at the FCS level. And yet people are going to dismiss him by pointing out other athletic Pro Day wonders who failed…and it’s true, to a degree. There are players who have great measured athleticism, but they usually don’t pair that with the output to back up the measurables. Not the case with Hall.

People are going to use his tape against North Dakota State (an easy grab off YouTube) against him…he didn’t do/show anything amazing against one of the better teams he faced. The tape, at this stage, isn’t the main point. You could teach Hall improved skillsets shedding blockers, etc. You can’t teach a 300+ pound man to run a 4.8 or less 40-time nor leap 38.0” inches. It’s unheard of. The raw athleticism is the main attraction here.

Against North Dakota State he was blocked out of plays pretty well, but he also showed some of his on-field movement skills. You wish, for his sake/the sake of the story, that he had 10 tackles and 5 sacks against NDSU, but he had a quiet game. I watched his play against LSU as a freshman – 7 tackles and a TFL and looked like the fastest lineman on either side. His career is filled with output…despite being double and triple teamed/blocked much of his career. I don’t think there’s a lack of will or skill…more so a need for higher-levels of coaching to hone his craft.

I went back and watched the East-West Shrine Game just focusing on P.J. Hall…lined up as a 4-3 DT all game – only one word…’dominant’. Virtually unblockable and driving blockers backwards off the snap most of the game.

One of the mistakes I made when I first watched him…he played some defensive end, and I saw that tape with him at DE -- and he was good but not awesome on the edge. You think he’s 280 pounds and not that fast for a DE…a 4.8 40-time isn’t great for an EDGE rusher. Once you learn he’s 308-pounds and runs in the 4.7s/4.8s…it puts his time at DE into perspective, and it makes you salivate over him as a quasi-Aaron Donald hopeful as a DT. That’s the best thing I can say about Hall – when I saw him play the first time, months ago, I thought…he moves OK for a 280-pound guy. Then I found out he’s 308-pounds and nearly fell over. He is so put together and can move so quickly that I almost don’t believe he’s 308-pounds.

Hall played 56 games over 4 years at Sam Houston. He played with an injured hand in a cast part of his freshman year and still blew away the stat sheets. He had some academic issues as a freshman but made it all the way through four-years. He seems pleasant enough and loves the game. No major red flags but going to San Houston over a D1 school doesn’t help his story.

Guys built like this only come around every so often…and you have to take them more seriously when they dominate their opponents in the box score, even at the lower levels. Hall is what the draft is all about…finding possible elite players. There are only a few each draft season if you’re lucky. Hall is one of those potential elites.

He’s like finding an amazing vacation rental place, but you only have online pics to judge it by. You can’t see it in person. You gather the basic info and it looks so good you take a leap, hoping that it is as good as it looks online and via reviews – you pay upfront hoping for the best. P.J. Hall, with his measurables and production numbers, you could almost buy sight unseen and hope you discovered gold.

P.J. Hall, Through the Lens of Our DT Scouting Algorithm:

Never had less than 19.0 TFLs in any of his four seasons at SHSU. 

Has won or placed highly in multiple conference and FCS division defensive awards…too many to bother discussing. 

His debut season was his best season, played a few games with a cast/club on his hand and still produced 94 tackles, 24.0 TFLs and 12.0 sacks.

Just 6.0 sacks last season but after three years of devastation in the Southland Conference, he started drawing some triple teams to go along with the constant double teams. 

14 blocked kicks over 4 years…at his 6’0” height – it shows how truly cat quick he is to block that many kicks. I don’t care what level of play it’s at. 

Pro Day Measurables…

6’0.4”/308, 32.1” arms, 9.6” hands

4.76 40-time (various reports in the 4.7s and 4.6s)? and N/A three-cone

36 bench reps, 38.0” vertical, 9’8” broad jump

In my database among 305+ pound DT prospects over the last decade:

Those with 37”+ verticals = 2 (Hall the best)

Faster than 4.85 40-time = 4 (Hall the fastest)

Greater than 9’7”+ broad jump = 5 (Hall the longest, tied)

The Historical DT Prospects to Whom P.J. Hall Most Compares Within Our System:

First off, I’ve really never seen anything like P.J. Hall in our database…so, there’s almost nothing to compare him to. 

Second, the Justin Zimmer comp is what should stop everyone in their tracks. Small school, Pro Day wonder from 2016…I doubted the Pro Day numbers and the more I learned the more I thought they were fudged (too many other guys at that Pro Day had shocking numbers). I don’t know about ‘questioning the data’ for Hall at this point. 

*A score of 8.00+ is where we see a stronger correlation of DTs going on to become NFL good/great/elite. A score of 10.00+ is more rarefied air in our system, and indicates a greater probability of becoming an NFL elite DT.

All of the DT ratings are based on a 0–10 scale, but a player can score negative, or above a 10.0 in certain instances.

Power-Strength Metrics = A combination of several measurements. An attempt to classify the DT prospect as more of a battle-in-the-trenches type of DT, and/or a DT prospect who has nose tackle capabilities.

Speed-Agility Metrics = A combination of several speed, agility, size measurements. A unique measuring system to look for DTs who profile for quickness, and/or a DT prospect who might have some DE capabilities.

Pass-Rusher Rating = A combination of physical measurables, and college performance, graded historically for future NFL profiling. In the simplest of terms, this is an attempt to classify whether a particular DT is likely to achieve high sack totals in the NFL. We know the ‘system’/scheme the DT goes on to play in has a part in future success...but so do the player’s skills and performance history.

Tackling Rating = A combination of physical measurables, and college performance, graded historically for future NFL profiling. In the simplest of terms, this is an attempt to classify the DT as one more likely to be involved in a heavy amount of tackles, tackles for a loss, and forced fumbles. Lower scoring DTs in this sub-category tend to be more pure ‘pluggers’, and not as active on the stat sheet. It also gives some insight of the ‘toughness’ of a player, if it is possible to quantify that (this is our attempt to).

NT Profile = This is an attempt to show which of these DT prospects has a profile to become a pure nose tackle/‘space-eater’ in the middle. It is not a 1–10 scale rating of a prospect’s skill/profile, it’s an attempt to point us in a direction of what this DT can be useful as (or not). Some DT prospects will grade off the charts on the NT profile, essentially a worst-case scenario of “put him in the middle and just let him be a wall.” There is NFL value in that ‘ability’.

2018 NFL Draft Outlook:

It’s hard to predict this kind of phenomenon. He’s a small school guy, so he will very likely get ignored no matter how splashy the Pro Day times were. However, these numbers are so explosive that they warrant special visits by all teams. A team like Seattle and their love affair with SPARQ could pull the trigger in the 3rd round here. I’ll predict he goes 4th round. 

If I were an NFL GM, I’d make plans to take him nearly sight unseen. This is what the draft is for – taking shots at freak of nature players, and you might have a team here trading for an extra 3rd-5th round pick to a shot on Hall? Why wouldn’t you make this pick early and take a shot? What are you going to do --take random O-Line depth? Or some Alabama guy with decent measurables but didn’t do squat for performance…but he did go to Alabama? 

NFL Outlook:   

No clue. Could be special. Could be a flameout. All I know is…I want a ticket to the show for the low cost of admission. 

3/8/2018