2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Michael Hall Jr.

Prospect Summary:

To open the 2022 season, it looked like Michael Hall Jr. was poised to have a massive year and dominate college football. He was tremendous in the season opener against Notre Dame and in Week 2 against Arkansas State, totaling five tackles for a loss over those two contests. However, Hall started dealing with nagging injuries. While he played in 12 games, he only started five because of those injuries. Despite being limited, Hall tied for the team lead with 4.5 sacks and also contributed 7.5 tackles for a loss and 19 tackles on the year. In 2023, Hall was played out of position, manning nose tackle frequently for the Buckeyes. He totaled 24 tackles abd 1.5 sacks on the year. To conclude his time wearing an Ohio State helmet, Hall practiced well at the Senior Bowl.

For the NFL, Hall is a true three-technique gap-shooting interior defensive tackle. In the pass rush, Hall is quick off the ball and a capable three-technique to line up over the outside shoulder of the guard. Hall uses his quick first-step to fire his gap and get penetration upfield. With his burst to fire into the backfield, Hall has real ability to create disruption in the backfield while denying a quarterback the ability to step up in the pocket. Hall also has some athleticism to redirect and adjust to scrambling quarterbacks. Hall is not stiff and has loose hips to change direction. While he is quick, he also has some upper strength to slap hands away while working to upfield to get after the signal-caller.

As a run defender, Hall is at his best firing his gap and trying to cause disruption in the backfield. In the college game, he held up well as a nose tackle despite being undersized. Given his weight, however, he could have issues with mass and defending downhill runs coming straight at him at the pro level.

The biggest flaw with Hall is character. Multiple team sources said the character issue are bad and significant. The character is such a problem that some teams could drop him off their board. In the 2024 NFL Draft, Hall could go as high as the late first round, but the character issues could cause him to slide significantly.