2022 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: Breece Hall, RB, Iowa State
Breece Hall is one of the most complete running backs in the draft and a clear favorite to be the first running back off the board.
His size and speed combined with his ability to break tackles has many NFL prognosticators making comparisons to former Cyclone, David Montgomery. Although he was graded favorably overall (86.6 last season) by PFF (Pro Football Focus), he is another running back in the draft who is best suited for a zone running scheme. In both grading (87 vs 75 PFF grades) split and volume of carries, Hall heavily preferred zone plays against power plays. Nonetheless, he has shown a very well-rounded running back skillset.
The only metric that's really concerning is one that has a long-standing correlation with success by many in the NFL community: Yards after contact per attempt. Hall's 2.83 registered him just past the 25th percentile among other NCAA running backs.
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Breece Hall Profile
Breece Hall Combine Results
Breece Hall Scouting Report
Hall was a four-star running back coming out of high school. He racked up 897 rushing yards and nine touchdowns in his freshman year, earning him 2nd-Team Big 12 honors. He took over the starting role in his second season and ended the year with 1,572 yards and 21 touchdowns, leading the entire FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) in 2020.
His breakout season earned him unanimous All-American honors, Big 12 Player of the Year and ranked 6th in the Heisman Trophy voting.
In his final year as a Cyclone, he ran for 1,472 rushing yards, tying third in the entire FBS, scoring 20 touchdowns and again earning unanimous All-American honors. Hall was the first player in Iowa State history to become a unanimous All-American.
Strengths
Hall has great speed and good hands. His solid frame combined with speed allows him to hit holes hard and fast. His break-away speed helped him to end his career at Iowa State with five 75+ yard touchdown runs. He also possesses great patience, understands how to read blocks and has great body control. On top of that, he has the ability to sneak out of the backfield and make plays as a receiver too.
Weaknesses
He has a tendency to be hesitant with his decision-making in college. He also lacked the elusiveness to escape defenders in the back-field when plays broke down. He also has a tendency to struggle running outside against fast linebackers. He was overworked at Iowa State and some have suggested that it may have taken a toll on his body.
Trait Based Projection
Breece Hall is a hard and fast downhill runner who struggles more on outside run plays. He would benefit from a power run scheme in the NFL. In such a scheme, he would be able to read blocks faster and accelerate quicker. He would also be a great option in goal line offense. On top of this, he would fit into any passing scheme with his strong hands and ability to sneak out of the backfield.
Analytics Corner
Breece Hall recorded the second-best Football Outsiders Speed Score. The “Speed Score” is a very simple formula/concept, but much more predictive than a 40 yard dash time alone. For physics fans, it's essentially measuring force instead of just speed by including a RB’s mass. Hence, weighing in at 217 for running a 4.39 40 yard dash, Hall recorded a 116.9 “Speed Score”, trailing only Isaih Pacheo from Rutgers.
Hall can clearly make defenders miss, but diving into some interesting splits thanks to Sports Info Solutions data can help us understand how he does so. Specifically, when splitting his carries where he breaks a tackle (typically by using strength) vs making a defender miss (typically by using elusiveness), we can glean a bit more about what the back has to offer.
According to SIS, although Breece Hall was ranked number one among his draft peers in Missed Tackles per 100 touches, he was only ranked 12th in Broken Tackles per 100 touches. This may start to feel a bit “Madden video game-ish”, yet it gives us some critical information in understanding what Hall brings to the table.
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