Panthers Draft Analysis: DE Daeshon Hall - Potential, Size, And Skillset To Be A Future Monster

[Saca312]

The Carolina Panthers came away during the offseason with a steal. They were able to successfully retool their defense with some fine free agents in CB Captain Munnerlyn, DE Julius Peppers, and SS Mike Adams. All these players helped fill in huge holes evident in the Panthers 2016 season, and helped form a defense likely to be in the top 5 next year. With the fine and speedy development of Bradberry and Worley towards the end of the 2016 season, along with the reinvigorated defensive front, this unit will be shaping up into one of the NFL's most feared strongholds with playmakers everywhere. 

Even with these fine additions, a common argument lately is how old the unit has gotten. The Panthers defensive ends were of particular note concerning the age issue. Addison, Charles Johnson, and Julius Peppers are all either in the middle of their prime or past it. They all aren't as young as they used to be, but they still are productive. However, that still doesn't excuse the fact they need some young blood to come in and get ready when they're too old for the league.

The Panthers entered the draft knowing they needed a new DE. They had just gotten rid of Ealy after his lackluster 2016 season, and needed some young blood to take advantage of the presence of Julius Peppers and Charles Johnson. Having a very high ceiling prospect learn behind from one of the best DEs in the NFL and Charles Johnson seemed too good of an opportunity to pass on, and Dave Gettleman knew that.

When round 3 came, a certain name jumped out on the Panthers big board. Many defensive end prospects saw themselves drop out of the 2nd round, and jump into the 3rd round, much to the glee of many GMs around the league. I can just see Getttleman now just staring at Daeshon Hall's name, his measurables, and his potential. His eyes probably looked in disbelief at the fact he still remained on the board entering the mid part of three, and deliberated whether they should jump the gun. After figuring that this fine specimen was likely to be unavailable during the Panthers compensatory pick, Gettleman made his classic mid round trade up and grabbed Hall.

Background

Texas A&M Daeshon "Dae Dae" Hall is a very athletic and big prospect. Standing at 266 pounds with length inside (35+” arms), he ran a 4.76 40 (1.67 10), 4.38 5-10-5 shuttle, and a 7.03 3-cone. Hall has plenty of room to add muscle to his 6’5” 266 frame, and looks the part of a prototypical 4-3 DE. Considering his measurables, one would think he'd be talked about more, but playing next to Myles Garrett would put a shadow over anyone. Known simply as the "other DE next to Garrett," Hall will look to change that narrative from simply "the other guy" to "Woah that's Dae Dae Hall!"

Hall originally never considered playing football. Growing up in Texas then Seattle, Hall played basketball for most of his life. Hall was originally rated one of the top basketball prospects in Washington, and could've had a decent career if we went down that path. However, his mom would intervene. Hall's mother would push and encourage Hall to try out football. Knowing how tough Hall is, she thought that mean-streak would translate well on the football field. Hall tried it out his Junior year in high school, and the rest is history.

Daeshon Hall was rated a 4-star recruit coming out of Lancaster High School in Seattle, Washington. A high character guy, He earned 1st-team All-State honors and was the Class 4A Defensive Player of the Year as a Senior. In his first two seasons at Texas A&M, Hall was a rotational player at defensive end that showed flashes of his potential. It wasn’t until his junior season in 2015 that hall became a full-time starter opposite All-American defensive end Myles Garrett.

His 2015 junior campaign was a breakout season for Hall. He compiled seven quarterback sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss for the Aggies, including four sacks in a season opening win against Arizona State. His performance in 2015 put him on the scouting radar. Hall had a decision to make on whether he should go Pro or stay in school. He chose the latter and decided to come back to Texas A&M for his senior year. His senior year saw Hall’s production dip a bit. He recorded only 3.5 sacks. Hall’s play in 2016 was very inconsistent but once again flashes were shown of the player he ultimately can be.

Breakdown

 

For this breakdown, I felt like taking a look at his game against Tennessee will be best suited to showcase an overall table of what Hall brings as a prospect, and what he can improve upon. This game does well to show pretty much every angle of Hall as a prospect, and the array of things he does best. You can compare the following analysis to the film itself if you feel it necessary.

Daeshon Hall has a very good motor when it's turned on. He is relentless and will pursue his prey without mercy. Hall will fight his way through traffic and put forth textbook effort to impact plays. His toughness is shown well in these instances, and he will push back tackles and guards at the chest. Hall's attack will drive guards and tackles backwards, inflicting pressure on the QB. The results usually include erratic throws and misses from the passer.

One thing that stands out is Hall's awareness and patience. He will diagnose a play and figure out the best course of action in certain situations. When he's faced with read-option plays, he will generally wait for a reasonable amount of time to diagnose the events, and base his decision from there. In the below play, you'll notice his quick diagnosis of going after the QB that will prove to be the best choice.

Pressuring the QB, Hall forces another miss. Figuring out that affecting the QB will prove to be more effective than attempting to cover the pass-catcher, he made the right decision in his short time of diagnosis. Intelligence is a very key aspect that the Panthers adore, and Hall will not disappoint in that area.

Hall shows a nice array of pass rush moves that he enjoys using. One of them is an inside move that's just flawless. When he uses this particular move, he'll usually fly by offensive linemen with ease and make an impact on the QB. If he were to use this move more often along with his other bits in his repertoire, he could very likely dominate in most of his match-ups.

Going back to how relentless Hall can be, he will make plays during important downs in a game. He will use his insanely fast closing speed to chase down scrambling QBs provide immediate pressure and worry. Hall shows insane closing speed to get after the QB on a crucial 4th and down. The result of the play will be failure, and Hall gets to the QB and forces him to throw an errant pass in a very uncomfortable situation.

Hall is also great at containment and guarding the edge. Unlike Delaire, Hall will put himself in a position that will force the QB to not go in his direction, and revert to another path. He will set the edge so that the play will have no choice but run into the linebackers and middle. This will prove to be quite the advantage for a team like Carolina, as their strength is in their stellar linebacker corps.

One thing that stands out about Daeshon Hall is how he LOVES to use his hands to win match-ups. It's a very dominant theme in Hall's repertoire. He will use many moves with his hands to move away offensive linemen and win at the point of attack. Keeping his hands active is something Hall is good at, and a very promising sign for any future DE who wants to be successful in the league.

Hall is very aware of plays. He doesn't tune out very often to what's happening around him, and watches how every play goes about. Once he sees that the ball is flung on the ground, he will chase after it without a second thought and come out with a play. Usually whenever the QB fumbles the ball, the results will either have Hall on top of the ball, or him fighting really hard for it.

Using a nice one stab-bull rush on the tackle, Hall has shown the ability to win and impact the QB in these situations. Able to quickly jab and use that move, he switches gears and turns towards the QB to finish a nice play. The result is usually him getting a sack, pressuring the QB, or earning himself a half sack.

And again with the hand movement, Hall just loves them. He will show off a nice outside rip move that will get him past tackles easily and pressure the QB. He may not have had the "sack stats" that many covet, but he will affect the play or QB in a positive way for the defense. Hall just has glorious hands and his own way of getting after the QB.

Now, Hall has plenty of areas for improvement. He needs to add strength to his frame, as you can often see him being dominated when he shouldn't be. When these events occur, it's likely due to his tendency to play high instead of lowering himself. He has great bend and leverage, but he does play high a bit too often for comfort. One thing that Eric Washington is big on is having his defenders play low, so expect issues like this to be fixed real quick in Carolina.

When playing inside, he also has a tendency to play high. Hall will need to correct this issue if he wants to see more success as a pass rusher. Using his athleticism to win inside quickly is a goal Hall will need to learn to achieve. If he is able to do that, he could be just as big of an impact as Mario Addison would be in these situations.

Even so, Daeshon Hall has shown plenty of traits and flashes that makes him a very solid pick by DG in the third round.

Conclusion

Daeshon Hall has a variety of traits that makes him an intriguing prospect.

Daeshon Hall will compete hard and battle at the point of attack. He has good instincts to locate the ball, anticipate blocking pressure, and play off blocks. Hall brings the prototype blend of size and length required to be a defensive end in a 4-3 scheme in the NFL. He uses his hands and length to keep offensive linemen at bay and to be able to set up his arsenal of pass rush moves. Hall also shows excellent bend off the edge which is a key trait for an edge rusher. Hall also plays the run very well. He is quick off the ball and uses his leverage to push blockers into the backfield. Hall has a 36 inch vertical jump, pointing towards his stellar athletic ability and lower body explosion. Hall was a very versatile player who can play edge and jumped inside a bit at Texas A&M. Hall has the capability of building more muscle and mass to become a full time DE in the NFL.

However, Hall does need to add more strength soon, evidenced by being pushed around a bit. Bench pressing 225 lbs only 18 times, it's fairly evident he needs to build on his frame. His base and anchor could use improvement, and he will need to learn to play with his hand on the ground. Hall has an on and off motor on the field, whether it be exhaustion or limited skillset, but he could certainly use some conditioning. Occasionally, Hall will play too high and not lower his pads when attacking, something the Panthers should jump on him immediately. Hall will not be expected to start, but fits well on the Panthers with the ability to have him learn for a year and produce later down the road.

Daeshon Hall has a future of being a stand-out 4-3 DE with production that could even rival Myles Garrett down the road. He has the potential to be a double-digit sack monster if he can put all his traits together by year 2 or 3. Learning behind Julius Peppers and Charles Johnson, along with Panthers legendary D-line coach in Eric Washington, Hall is in good hands in hopes of being able to turn into the monster the Panthers hope he'll become.

Down the road, Hall may no longer be known as the "other guy," but that monstrous pass rusher everyone recognizes and adores.

[Saca312]

Just add on the fact that Daeshon Hall is a very high character guy and you've got a well-looking prospect down the road. He does show the willingness to learn and improve his game, and his backstory further impacts how he'll likely be a very good addition down the road.

The next Carolina Defensive End great.

[Joe the Show]

Hopefully he doesn't beat up a girl

Sent using the amazing CarolinaHuddle mobile app

[Woodie]

He definitely needs technical work.  Several times, he got turned around and out of the play.  He was kind of all over the place.  His hand placement wasn't always great, he sometimes got too high, and I'm sure many things a seasoned coach could see that I'd miss.  He also clearly needs to add strength.  There were several times that he was either just pushed out of the play or wasn't strong enough to bull his way into it.  I also saw a few instances where the Tenn. player easily ran through his arm tackle.  But we knew this coming in.  The good thing is that these are all correctable problems.  

He did show good awareness and play recognition, and he doesn't just quit on a play, he keeps fighting.  He also shows the burst and athleticism to be very good once he cleans up a few things.  

Overall, I like him as a prospect.  He needs work, and may take a year or two before he is a regular contributor, but the tools are there for him to be one of the top DE's from this class when all is said and done.  As long as he's willing to put the work in and listen to his coaches and the vets, I do believe he will be a very good player or us.

[PrimeTimeHeel]

I just want a DE that can scream bend around the edge like Barrett. Hope Hall puts the pieces together and becomes a solid DE for us. 

[saX man]

I like this one folks

[LinvilleGorge]

Pure potential pick. I like it since we really don't need him to contribute this year unless we get hit by injuries. We can essentially give him a redshirt year if need be. Probably boom or bust but worth the risk in the 3rd. Worth both a 3rd never a 4th is what we spent? Eh... we'll see. I hope so.

[Saca312]

7 hours ago, PrimeTimeHeel said:

I just want a DE that can scream bend around the edge like Barrett. Hope Hall puts the pieces together and becomes a solid DE for us. 

Well Hall definitely has some nice bend.

[JayNasty]

Too long, I did read. 

 

Good write up

[Oldschool Leroy]

This pick tells me I suck as an arm chair gm. I wouldn't have picked him at our original spot let alone trade up for him.

 

Just means he will probably end up in the hall of fame.

 

 

[mountainpantherfan2]

Hall resembles, from a potential and developmental standpoint, Charles Johnson when he was selected in the 3rd Round.  Similar speed and weight as well if I'm remembering correctly.  Hall is defiantly taller.  He has a chance of being apart of the rotation right away and could develop into a starter within 2-3 years.  Same as what Johnson did.

[Snake]

Definitely has the talent but needs some weight and work. Being on a team with a strong line will help this kid as well. 

[XClown1986]

I think Hall's biggest issue that jumps out on film is his lack of confidence. He needs the edge to say whoever he lines up across from, he is going to whip his ass.

[Saca312]

6 hours ago, XClown1986 said:

I think Hall's biggest issue that jumps out on film is his lack of confidence. He needs the edge to say whoever he lines up across from, he is going to whip his ass.

Very true. He needs that mindset that his mom hoped he'd show more of from playing football of being tough. He's more than capable, just needs to hit the weight room a bit more.