In the preseason, Ohio State DT Michael Hall Jr. was already billed as one of the top prospects at his position in the 2024 NFL Draft. Where does Hall rank now, and where should he be expected to come off the board with his finalized scouting report?
Michael Hall Jr. Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’3″
- Weight: 290 pounds
- Length: 33 1/2″
- Wingspan: 81 1/4″
- Hand: 10″
- Position: Defensive Tackle
- School: Ohio State
- Current Year: Junior
The Ohio State Buckeyes have long been an NFL talent conveyor belt, but the team’s riches on the defensive line were just as impressive through the 2023 season.
On the edges, the Buckeyes had a player in JT Tuimoloau who remains a potential early-round pick for the 2025 cycle, as well as a sleeper in Jack Sawyer.
Michael Hall Jr. has been relentless all night long for the #Buckeyes.
Powerful, explosive, impactful
pic.twitter.com/VV80fC3d6w— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) September 4, 2022
On the interior, the Buckeyes boasted another pair of early-round prospects with Hall and Tyleik Williams — not to mention Ty Hamilton in the rotation. Williams could be a first-rounder in 2025, but Hall is the prize of the 2024 NFL Draft cycle for Ohio State’s defense.
Hall’s ceiling is high, as you might expect from a former top-50 recruit with premier athleticism. In 2022, he checked the production box with 4.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss.
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Statistically, Hall’s 2023 campaign wasn’t quite as fruitful — he accounted for just two TFLs and 1.5 sacks — but the tape shows a level of disruption greater than what the numbers allege.
Hall’s impact was felt almost every game, and he has the disruptive traits to be a coveted 2024 NFL Draft prospect. He gave onlookers a reminder of those traits at the Senior Bowl, where he gave linemen fits in 1-on-1s with his burst and agility.
Later, at the Buckeyes’ pro day, Hall logged a 4.78-second 40-yard dash, a 33″ vertical, and a 9’3″ broad jump — numbers that would place him well above the 90th percentile of athletes at the defensive tackle position.
Michael Hall Jr. Scouting Report
Strengths
- Dense, well-leveraged defender with great proportional length and power capacity.
- Has blistering initial explosiveness and lateral burst, which he uses to expedite wins.
- Agility and freedom of motion allow for eye-opening bouts of recovery quickness.
- Has unnatural torque and rotational power for his frame, obliterating opposing balance.
- Can beat isolation run blocks instantly with quick and violent swim moves.
- Rapidly works across-face with his lateral agility while clubbing and shedding blocks.
- Can torque through extensions with clubs and rocket up pursuit paths to the QB.
- Extremely proficient at leveraging his explosiveness and length into menacing power.
- Rotational freedom and leveraging serve as dangerous accelerants for force at contact.
- Natural leverage allows him to get under blockers and forklift up with his stowed power.
- Has the ankle flexion to lean past blocks while stunting and compressing rushing paths.
- Can throttle up and expand his strides while using ankle flexion to shrink his torso.
- At least has the strength and proper leveraging to stack-and-shed 1-on-1 run blocks.
- Easy accelerator in space with impressive pursuit speed and range for his size.
- Relentless motor carries him through contact and allows him to drive through blocks.
Weaknesses
- Lacks elite mass, which can affect his take-on strength and balance through contact.
- Sometimes loses his balance when rushing and stunting across gap alignments.
- Doesn’t have the strength to negate snatch-and-trap moves while stunting across-face.
- Can be shocked upright by extensions early in pass-rush reps, delaying his advance.
- Hand placement on outside club and chop counters can be more precise at times.
- Can be more consistent employing pass-rush counters off initial power rushes.
- At times, can be more efficient loading and exerting hands when employing power.
- Has room to expand his pass-rush arsenal past swims and clubs.
- Doesn’t always show the necessary hand strength to drive through moves and finish.
- At times, can be more controlled when attacking upfield and combating run blocks.
- Flexibility, while superb, might not be quantifiably elite, as hips lock up at times.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Hall grades out as a fringe top-64 prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft, who should command capital in the early-to-mid Day 2 range. There’s a chance Hall ends up as a surprise Round 1 pick in light of his testing, but he still has room to refine his game.
The physical tools present the most appeal for Hall. At around 6’3″ and a playing weight of 295 pounds, he’s an extremely dense and well-leveraged lineman with great proportional length, as well as torrid explosiveness and agility off the snap.
Combine Hall’s explosiveness, lateral freedom, leverage, length, and rotational torque, and you get a defender who’s tailor-made to demolish blocks and disrupt the offensive game plan. At his peak, that’s exactly what Hall is.
Nevertheless, Hall is still striving for more consistency across operational areas in year three of his collegiate career. His balance can still be an issue at times, and his pass-rush arsenal has room to expand past swims and clubs when stunting.
Going further, Hall doesn’t quite have the high-level play strength as a run defender that his teammate Williams boasted in 2023. Hall can stack-and-shed 1-on-1 well enough, and his swims are ruthless, but he’s not as proficient at absorbing combo blocks or preventing displacement when anchored.
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Even so, the tools are there for Hall to be a stellar rotational 3-tech with dynamic disruption ability right away at the NFL level. There are flashes of high-level execution and power management as a pass-rusher, and his ability to violently shed and make plays in run pursuit is undeniable.
Looking at his peak glimpses, Hall has the upside to be a plus-starter in the NFL. He’d be best utilized in odd and hybrid fronts, where he can play off a nose tackle and stunt across the formation with his burst and flexibility.
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