Michael Hall Jr. scouting report: Exploring the Ohio State interior defensive lineman's strengths and weaknesses

Just outside the top-50 overall recruits in 2021, Hall played in four games and ultimately took a redshirt his first year in Columbus. In his first full season with the Buckeyes, he recorded 19 tackles, 7.5 of those for loss, four sacks and a fumble recovery across 266 total snaps. This past year, he had 24 total stops, but only two TFLs and 1.5 sacks. He made third-team All-Big Ten in both those years.

Profile: 6-foot-3, 285 pounds; RS SO.

Breaking down Michael Hall Jr.'s scouting report

Run defense:

• Drew early comparisons to a less refined version of 2023 Pitt first-round pick Calijah Kancey (Buccaneers) for the way he can create issues with his quickness as a penetrator
• If you just allow him to line up on the outside shoulder of the guard and ask him to get upfield, the way he can rip through and shut down the front-side of run plays stands out
• Yet, he’s also become a steadier presence along the interior, being able to find anchor points and stack blockers when asked to play gap-control
• Explosive laterally to work over the top of down-blocks trying to pin him away from the point of attack as the offense pulls somebody the other opposite direction
• Is able to create angles towards the ball thanks to his triceps strength to press off and flatten
• Looks like he’s swallowed up by blockers yet finds a way to suddenly pull the opposite arm over and getting contact on the ball-carrier at the line of scrimmage occasionally
• Recognizes linemen bucket-stepping and instead of desperately trying to fight towards the play-side shoulder, taking them a couple of steps deeper into the backfield, forcing the back to widen and therefore making it easier for pursuit to get there
• Showcases incredible mobility down the line, to track down the runner on zone concepts

Pass-rush:

• Features one of the quickest club-swim combos you’re going to find, which becomes a real problem when he recognizes blockers sliding his way and the opposite gap being unoccupied
• Is able to create good torque to the pads of linemen as he pushes at their shoulder-plate to open a path to step path them
• Capable of crossing up guards with euro-step-like maneuvers, paired with the high swim
• Throws out a tornado-like spin move every once in a while, which make guards look like they got their feet stuck in quick-sand
• Has worked on his ability to take advantage of softer sets and standing up as they try to land their strikes, as he extends those 33.5-inch arms and drives interior pas-protectors back into the quarterback’s space
• Provides the upfield force to pull linemen with him as the spiker and opening up a lane for his looping teammates
• Shows highly impressive change-of-direction to stick his foot in the ground and circle around traffic as a delayed looper
• Earned PFF grades of 77.2 and 80.3 overall these past two seasons, with a 99th percentile grade on true pass-rush snaps
• Was tied for tenth among interior D-linemen in this draft in 2023 pass-rush productivity (7.1) – logging 29 pressures + 16 other pass-rush wins on just 228 rush opportunities

Weaknesses:

• Still on the smaller end for a defensive tackle and Ohio State highlighted that by regularly aligning him between the guard and center
• Not somebody who really controls the line of scrimmage in the run game, getting dug out on down-blocks regularly and having problems anchoring vs. doubles
• Too often gets caught dancing around with guards instead of working past them in passing situations
• Needs to do a better job of staying on a short path around linemen, rather than allowing them to force him to take a wider track or even beyond the QB
• When he does beat blockers across their face, he doesn’t make sure to get to their hip and follow through all the time, leading to him getting ridden off track quite a bit – has to work on trapping that arm as well

Michael Hall Jr.'s 2024 NFL Draft prospect

I wasn’t a huge fan of Hall’s game when I studied Michael Hall Jr. last summer and cautioned people trying to compare him to prior defensive tackles who were labelled as quick, disruption-style players.

Yet, while his numbers went down, I thought I saw more projectable skills this past season when it comes to battling in condensed space and executing pass-rush moves. Plus, then he had some very impressive moments during Senior Bowl week.

I still believe his role is pretty narrow as a three-technique in a attacking even front, where he doesn’t have to deal with combos regularly when he does see the field on early downs. To get there, he’ll need to continue getting stronger in his ability to anchor, while his opportunities will largely rely on how quickly he can produce as a sub-package player.

The get-off, quicks and flashes of power could lead to some impressive reps against NFL guards, but at this point he’s not efficient with actually getting past those guys because his hips don’t follow through well enough even when he defeats the opposing hands. To me, he’s worthy of a late day-two investment, if I have a plan for him early on.

Grade: Early third round