LISTEN | Draft Pick Profile - Bryce Hall (5/19)

first round pick. Then in two thousand nineteen, unfortunately, he went down while blocking on a punt return as a Miami Hurricane player rolled on his leg. He broke his fibula and tore his delt toy ligament, dislocated an ankle. So Green's he only played six games last season, highly productive player, and he was on the field, and he lasted until the fifth round. Again, if he was healthy for eleven games, you're talking about a player who probably

doesn't escape the second round. Some people, when they get injured, they kind of fall off and they don't they're not active with their team. Well, Bryce Hall was the opposite. He spent every game on the sideline. He was the clipboard holder, the motivational guy. He was a team captain and for good reason. For the while who's meticulous in his preparation, he's a guy who's determined to learn and grow. You mentioned him being a team leader. He became more

vocal after the injuries, so he very well liked. In addition to the tangibles, you're talking about a Bryce Hall player who played forty four games in forty four collegiate games. He had forty four past defenses, including those twenty two breakups in two thousand eighteens. And the Jets rightfully, so I believe I think they found great value of Bryce Hall in the fifth round. I think that's very fair

to say. And let's hear from Joe Douglas and his staff that includes Rex Hogan and Phil Savage about what they like about Bryce Hall. Yeah, unfortunate about the injury in October derailed his season this year. But when we're talking about Bryce's he's a guy that has unique size,

length and ball skills. You know, here's a young man that can really play the ball when he's in phase and find it and that that's an important attribute to have when you're playing in in Gregg's defense and with the Nord we feel like we have a great coaching staff to to really develop this this young player, and I know he's excited to get here give role and improved to the rest of the league that he should

have been drafted higher. We trusted the board and and having him there in the fifth round and seeing there was a good value for us. This is a big corner who's played outside throughout his career. He's got a good size, He's got a good combination of height, weight and speed. Obviously, we didn't get to see him run this year in terms of a true testing at the Combine because of his recovery, but he shown it on tape and he shown ability with his size and length

outside to to break up passes. He had over twenty plus pass breakups in his junior season and was well on his way to to a significant senior year as well until the injury, which was unfortunate. But we feel fortunate about being able to pick him and select him in the fifth round and and like his ability moving forward for a fit for our defense. Well. I certainly think relative to where he would have gone had he not had the ankle injury back during the fall. He

clearly was the first three round type of prospect. I mean there were mock drafts literally a year ago that had him in the first round. I think realistically he was probably a second or third round kind of talent.

He unfortunately had that that ankle fracture, and then with the injury, he's not able to participate, saying the Reese's senior boy, He's not able to participate at the combine, and then with this pandemic, there was really no way to ultimately follow up with him from a medical standpoint other than just the combine, And at that point we felt like he had made a lot of progress. The

doctors signed off on it. And I tell you, if he returns to full health, which all indications are that he will, I mean, this is a potential starter at it in the fifth round. He's got long arms, he's athletic in terms of being able to have some reaction on the football. But what I really liked about him, and I think the other guys would say the same thing, is that he has a long arm reach and he finishes at the football. So he's the kind of player

that might be given some ground. You think Okay, he's gonna get beat here, and then the last ten percent of the down he's able to close and knock the ball away or in some cases intercepted. So we really liked his instincts and his ability to close and finish at the reception point. This is sort of a blanket statement, but any of the players that were injured during the season and then we're not able to fully participate during the All Star season or at the combine, and ultimately

we're only physical at the combine. It there's no doubt in my mind that it impacted those guys value to an extent because most gyms in the league just are not going to be willing to take a player who they just cannot quite sign off on, or they've not had a final look with one of the thirty visits, or you know, going back to the school and getting more UH medical insiders, actually seeing the player UH perform

in his pro day. And Bryce Hall certainly would have been one of those players that if he could have worked out in April in front of the NFL scouts, I think you would have seen him go probably on the on the second day of this draft. In regards to his future health with the Jets. You know, all inner case, all indications are that he should be close to being ready for training camp on a normal schedule.

We'll have to wait and see where he actually is, but there was good feedback that he would cover fully from this injury and if there's any kind of delay at all, honestly, we just we're betting on the future with Bryce Hall that if it's not just, but we're looking at one and beyond because we think he's a good player. He let's talk about Bryce Hall on the field.

You mentioned he only played six games in two thousand nineteen, Well in two thous eighteen definitely his best collegiate performance, second team All American, first Team All A c C and maybe more impressive than both of that he led the FBS in past defenses. He can find the football. A lot of guys have the athletic skill set where they can run with people, but defensive backs oftentimes when they're coming out of college, they can put up the way.

They're strong, they can run, but not everybody can find the football. So he's got a good knack for the game. And you go back to his high school days, here's a kid who played wide receiver and defensive back. So that's very rare when you're talking about a collegiate player who had twenty two pass defenses in just a single season at Virginia. He was asked to do a lot of different things and all some people have talked about Bryce Hall being best suited in zone situations, but he

did play man at Virginia. They mixed up the defense over the time he was there. He was also an effective blitzer. You think about that junior campaign where he was all over the field getting his hands on the football. He also had sixty two tackles, three and a half tackles for a loss, a pair of sacks, a pair of interceptions in two forced bumbles. So not only did he excel as far as breaking up passes, he filled up the statuet. Yeah, Bryce Hall. You mentioned this a

little earlier. He was a receiver coming out of high school and basically when he got to Virginia, the coaching ads on the offensive defensive sides are basically wrestling for Bryce Hall, and Bryce Hall ends up being a defensive back and the rest is history. But this is a guy who you can clearly see the receiver traits where he's long, he's tall. He's five total interceptions over four seasons, and I think what Phil Savage said kind of stands

out to me the most. Bryce Hall is a kind of player where a ball can be in the air and you might think, oh my god, Bryce Hall is gonna get beat on this play. Well, his thirty two and a quarter inch arms and a seventy eight and a half inch wingspan might disagree with you, even if it's the last second. Bryce Hall has a knack for getting his hand in there and knocking the ball away and basically there's no quit And I think that's something

that the Jets really like about Bryce Hall. Yeah, and this is another guy where you talk about his background and firstile skill set. He was a very good basketball player in high school at the AU level and effect there were times when he thought that I'm gonna go

I'm gonna become a basketball player. But let's see where he's at medically again, we talk about the pandemic right now and what everybody's facing with COVID nineteen, and the big thing for all will be when he actually comes to the Jets and arrive at one Jets Drive is where is he at in terms of his rehab. But one thing we can be sure about, one thing that we're certain about just by reading his background and talking to people who know Bryce Hall. He is a diligent worker.

He's gonna get after it, and he thinks he's gonna be ready to go. And the other thing that Phil Savage said about Hall that I really liked is, hey, we're betting on Bryce Hall. We think he's gonna be no matter what the timeline is. And Bryce Hall fully expects to be ready for your training camp. But the Jets like his future and the possibilities of what he

can bring to the table for this team. In a typical world, if you get hurt in the sixth game of the year and you have the combine, you have the medical rechecks, you have top thirty visits, all of which didn't exist except for the actual combine. So Bryce Hall, in a perfect world, even if he had the injury,

still could have been a day to selection. But because teams couldn't sign off on him a hundred percent without having them take their physical with their doctors and going back to Indianapolis for the medical rechecks, it feels like that's the reason why he slipped and I'll tell you what, like a fifth round pick for Bryce Hall for a day to talent when fully healthy, it just feels like it's a good bet to make if you're Joe Douglass and the Jets, because a year from now we could

be talking about Bryce Hall as a potential starter. I think a lot of people probably were sitting there, if you're a Jets fan, at across in your fingers and hoping that Joe Douglas takes Bryce Hall there because there's an argument to be made that there was outstanding value for a guy like Hall in the fourth round, and the Jets, of course had the three picks in the fourth round, and I think teams with needs at cornerback or looking up to looking to shore up the position,

there were a lot of fans of those respective teams who were drafting in the area the Jets were in the fifth round, hoping that their club would take a flyer per se on a Bryce Hall. But the Jets got him, and yeah, he does have the potential to be a start in the National Football League. I found it interesting there's some people think that Bryce Hall ultimately suited to be free safety in the National Football League. With that being said, no talk of that from the

Jets perspective. I think they're going into this thinking full go. Bryce Hall is a cornerback and when we get them up to speed, that's exactly where he's going to be. All right, Well, let's hear from Olivia Lands, who caught up with Mike Barber of the Richmond Times Dispatch, who covered Bryce Hall at Virginia. You cover Virginia Tech as well as Virginia and Bryce Hall, who was taken in the fifth round of the NFL Draft a hundred and

fifty eight overall by the New York Jets. He's an individual who back in twineteen originally thought he was going to go in the first round of the NFL Draft, but opted to go back and play his senior season. What kind of growth did you see from him in the games that he was able to play before his injury. Yeah, you know, Bryce came back and it's surprised a lot of people because he was on that path to be

first or a second round draft pick. He had led the nation and pass breakups, his one on one coverage skills were through the roof, and NFL scouts were really excited about him, and I think most people I spoke to projected that he would leave. He would leave, and he would be a high pick. But there were some things that that Bryce wanted to improve on personally. One of those was his ball skills. Um. He you know, like I said, he led the nation and pass breakups.

He watched video of those plays and thought that, you know, three or four or five six of them should have been interceptions. Uh So that was a big area of emphasis for him. He didn't really play in enough games to to show off whether or not he had he had improved in that area, And honestly, a lot of teams in this past season threw away from Bryce. He's

that kind of a corner. He's able to play physically at the line, he's able to cover off the line, and teams were pretty content about not taking a chance throwing at Bryce Hall before the injury. So I don't know that he got to show all that he had worked on and focused on and improved. But another big part of his decision to come back was he felt

that there was some unfin finished business for Virginia. You know, this was a team that has been on the is under the new coaching staff, Bronco Menden Hall and that crew, and Bryce Hall has been a huge part of that. And you know, his injury happened playing special teams. He's one of those do everything for the team guys, and he really wanted to come back and help this team win a championship and uh, you know he played part

of the year then he got hurt. The team did go on to win a Coastal Division title and playing the Orange Bowl, and uh, those were things that Bryce really wanted to be a part of. In the few games that he was able to play in the twenty nineteen season, what did you see from his game that stood out to you that, Wow, this is skill set

that he can take to the next level. Yeah. Well, he's just a guy that can blanket you in terms of if you're a defensive coach and you're putting together your game plan and where are you gonna help, when are you gonna blitz, how are you going to use your safeties? All that? If you've got Bryce Hall, he to me is uh the epitome of a lockdown corner. Uh, certainly he was in the A c C. He's a guy that can take away a third of the field like coaches like to say. And that really showed up.

And again it showed up in the way teams chose to attack him or not attack him. It showed up in the fact that sometimes Bryce Hall would get locked on a guy and you could tell that offensive coordinators and play callers they were saying to themselves, Okay, that's not an option. Now, we're not going to throw at Bryce. And you know, the best players at that position in the NFL, and certainly the New York Jets have had a number of them, are guys who teams are essentially

afraid to throw at. And I think Bryce Hall showed that at the college level. He's going to be coming to a team with the New York Jets and defensive coordinator Gray Williams, who makes and he's very vocal about this, He makes all of his defensive players learn at the very least two different positions. What other ways do you think he can be flexible in his game to fit into Greg Williams scheme. Yeah, Bryce Hall is the kind

of guy who won't have any trouble. Um. You know, we got to know Greg a little bit when the Washington Redskins and Bryce Hall is a guy who one of the things his coaches talk about most with him is his time studying film, learning the entire defense. Uh, He's just a guy who's ready to mentally tackle everything when it comes to football. He helps other players. Yes, he helped the other corners at Virginia, but he helped the other safeties. He could work with the linebackers. He

understood the entire defense. So one, I think Bryce Hall is someone who will mentally be able to learn and play anywhere in the secondary. I think he has a little more physicality maybe than people realize. If you're thinking about defending in the slot, could be as a nickel. But then you also think about you know, and it

certainly was sad his injury. His injury came on special teams because he's unafraid to play on punt return, punt coverage, kick return, kick coverage, and as a young player in the NFL, I think he's gonna be willing to do all those. So, yes, he's coming from a pedigree of being the starting corner and the number one updown guy, but he's shown through the college career willingness and an ability to contribute in special teams and really all over

the field. And how ready. Do you think Bryce would be come NFL season if his names were called to be a starter. Yeah, it's it's a great question. You know, a year ago, I would say he's ready to step in and start. Now with the injury, you just have the physical question. And you know, we've talked to Bryce a few times since the injury. We got to see him at the Bowl game. I got to speak to him just before the draft, and he's not a hundred

percent yet. Now he's a hundred percent healed, which is great. His posis is great, but he hasn't fully gotten back to the range of motion and to all the things that he was able to do and he needs to do physically with that ankle. So I think mentally Bryce Hall is ready to step in and and start in the NFL. I think skill set wise, he's ready to step in and start in the NFL. I just haven't seen the kid run or cut or do anything physically since the injury. So for him, it's about how hard

has he been working. And you know, my personal experience with Bryce's he's not gonna cut corners. Whatever he needed to do to be physically ready for camp in the NFL. He was going to do it. His expectation when I spoke to him was that he would be a pent and able to do everything by the time camp started, and that meant even rookie mini camp. And obviously we're not sure the schedule or when will be but um my guess as Bryce Hall is going to come in

physically and mentally ready. I think it's gonna take a little while to get his timing back, but a few weeks and if there's a preseason I think he's somebody the Jets could turn to much of a chipper on his shoulder. Do you think he has if any You know, it's interesting because Bryce isn't necessarily the kind of kid that that needs that negative fuel. He's a very grounded,

very religious, faith based all of those things. That being said, Olivia, think you're right that I think he has something to prove, and I don't know that it will come out um in some of the ways sometimes we hear in the media. I don't think he's gonna say I'm gonna show people they made a mistake. I don't think he's gonna say I'm gonna show people, uh you know that they messed up.

I think he just wants to show people that the New York Jets made a good discis and I think he wants to show people that he is the first or second round pick that everybody thought he could be before the injury. So I think it fuels him. I don't think it will fuel him in that really negative kind of you know. I don't think there's teams out there that passed on him that he particularly wants to play well against. I think he wants to play sixteen great games to show everybody that the New York Jets

were right and that he is that caliber player. Mike, before I let you go, what is one thing about Bryce that may surprise not only the Jets but fans when he comes on the field. Well, I think he's got a tremendous personality. He has a real joy for the game. He's always smiling. You see that off the field. You know about his background, his religion, all of those things. You know how hardy studies. I don't know that people realize just how competitive he is. And you'll see that.

You'll see that when he gets locked on one on one. You'll see it when he's got a jam a receiver at the line, like for all the great things about his personality and what a great kid he is. He is a a nasty, angry, fiery competitor once the ball is snapped, and you know, yeah, he switches it off between plays and he's great to be around all week and he kind of gives off this you know, friendly almost teacher kind of vibe, but he wants to win.

He's incredibly competitive. Um, you know, he was a great athlete high school receiver and defend back. So I think people are going to be impressed by the competitive streak of Bryce Hall as they get to see the other side of him, which is kind of laid back, smiley and very easy going. He Let's now talk about where Ice Hall can fit in on this jet secondary, assuming he's fully healthy. This is a crowded cornerbacks room compared

to even before the draft. So where do you think he fits in Off the top, Well, we know off the top to Brian pulls your nickel corner that was key resigning by Joe Douglas. Then on the outside you would figure that pencil and Pierre Dessier at one of the starting outside positions again another long cornerback. Joe Douglas with his second sixth round pick. He traded that to the Indianapolis Colts and got Quincy Wilson, a former second round pick as well. And let's not forget about Bless Austin,

who got valuable time on the outside last year. And you've got a former Culton Nate Harriston as well. So I think the thing for Bryce Hall will be getting here, getting back up to speed a hundred percent physically, and then seeing where he fits in. But for the Jets,

you know it's likely opening day in Buffalo. You have Bryan Paul Nicol, you have Pierre to zero at one of the outside corners, and then I I kind of view it right now as we sit here in May, maybe it's a fight for who's gonna be the opposite starting quarter And is that a Quincy Wilson? Is that a Bless Austin? And what can Bryce Hall give you? What can you contribute in year one if it's health gets back up to I think one of the more overlooked storylines of this offseason has been the revamping of

the secondary. When you start from the releasing of Trueman Johnson to Darryl Roberts to the guys you just mentioned now between Pierre tos Ere Quincy Wilson. You bringing a guy like Bryce Hall, Bless Austin entering year two, resigning Arthur Mallett, then you have Nate Hairston in the mix there. It just feels like that the group of corners right now is a lot more competitive than where it was a couple of months ago. And I think that it is going to be a battle right now if everyone's

fully healthy. I agree with you. You're probably looking at Brian Pool in the nickel, Pierre to Zer and then there's a battle for that for that other spot, and I think that it's going to be one of the more exciting camp battles to watch. Yeah, listen. And I like the size on the outside. We used to mention that as Hall as a guy who's what listed it as six one two plus pounds, right, yeah, yeah. Quincy Wilson is six to nine pounds six too. That's a

long corner to zero. He's a longer player himself. He's six one. We saw Bless Austin. We think about his wingspan and his length. He's a six one pounder. It has the feel of the Jets are getting bigger at the cornerback position, and then you've got the dynamic Brian Pool in the middle. I'm glad you mentioned Arthur Palette as well, because here's a guy's five non ninety pounds, but he plays a lot bigger than that. He's got that fighting spirit and he's got experienced playing both outside

and inside. So again another position where Joe Douglas had to make some changes and he's increased the depth there, and now you're setting yourself up for uh interesting training camp battles will have to see how all those moving parts work together because communication is going to be the key. Whereas the safety is like Marcus May and Jamal Adams, they probably don't even have to talk too much sometimes

where they know what the other is doing. The cornerbacks, the new cornerbacks particularly, are going to have to get caught up, so to speak. Yeah, I think that if we oftentimes thing about the offensive line needing a form of chemistry, well I think it's the same thing with the defense really as a whole, because communication is so imperative, and in particular the secondary. So we'll see how this

all shakes out during camp. But the long story short here is that Bryce Hall was a fantastic value pick for the Jets given the injury that made him slide a little bit, but he does have the talent and the potential to emerge as a potential starting cornerback for

the Green and White. And that was another edition of the official Jets podcast, the Draft Pick Profile series presented by Verizon, continuing on E A and I wrapping up the series with the Jets sixth round pick Hunter from Texas A and M Braided Man.