Could Bryce Hall be another late-round steal at CB for the New York Jets? Sam Crnic breaks down Hall’s NCAA All-22 Film at Virginia.
2020 Jets draft class film breakdowns:
Entering 2020 with one of the weakest CB units in the league, Joe Douglas had his work cut out for him early. Starting in free agency, the Jets picked up Pierre Desir from the Colts, while also re-signing Brian Poole. Despite the lack of success former general manager Mike Maccagnan had with drafting, there was no denying that he had found a promising young talent in Blessuan Austin.
With Desir, Poole, and Austin locked up and bigger needs to address on offense, Douglas waited until the third day of the NFL Draft to attack the cornerback position.
Fortunately enough, Bryce Hall fell into the New York Jets’ arms at No. 158 overall in the fifth round.
- Hometown: Harrisburg, PA
- High School: Bishop McDevitt High School (PA)
- Position: CB
- School: Virginia
- Height: 6’3
- Weight: 200 lbs
Originally a two-star recruit from Bishop McDevitt, Bryce Hall contributed on both sides of the field, primarily playing WR with snaps at CB. With only two FBS scholarships, Hall chose to play for Virginia over Coastal Carolina. This decision proved successful, as Hall was able to effectively transition his game to the defensive side of the ball, excelling at playing CB.
Going into his 2019 senior year, Bryce was widely mocked as a first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft after leading the nation in pass breakups as a junior (2018). However, six games into his senior season, Hall suffered a season-ending ankle injury that essentially ended his career at Virginia.
Fast forward to the 2020 training camp, and Bryce Hall appears determined to rebound from his unfortunate ankle injury. With enough luck and recovery, Bryce can become this year’s Bless Austin.
Commenting on his health, Hall seems ready to go:
“Basically right now, my ankle is healed. It’s just about getting it back to the same range of motion and just explosiveness as my other ankle. I’m getting better and stronger every week.”
Film
With a 3-deep look from Virginia, Bryce Hall is lined up on the defense’s left (top of the screen), about eight yards off the line of scrimmage. The slot WR does a nice job of stemming outside of his intended route, just enough to catch the attention of Hall. From there, he slowly works his way back inside, in which Hall follows. He leaves his zone just enough to warrant a throw to the right sideline on the vertical. FSU’s QB lays a back-shoulder strike to the WR, giving him ample space to reel in the catch. Poor zone coverage by Hall, but one of FSU’s best throws of the game.
With another cover-3 look from Virginia, FSU looks to attack with out routes on both ends of the sideline. Bryce Hall (left outside CB) backpedals off the snap with flexion in his hips, bent slightly forward at the waist, and with his outside foot slightly back. Once the WR gets off the line of scrimmage, Hall gets into a tilt stance where his hips are open with a 45-degree angle towards his man.
Off the break to the outside from the WR, Bryce attacks the ball, exploding into his man for the tackle. Although he isn’t quick enough to force an incompletion here, the ball pops out after the WR hits the ground right into Bryce’s hands. He finishes the play in the endzone, which every coach loves to see even if it does come back.
Recognizing a hook route from the outside WR, Hall (left outside CB) doesn’t give his man much cushion in an effort to force an incompletion. He once again starts out in a backpedal with low hips and a forward-leaning waist which allows himself to stay in front of the WR. Because of his over-commitment to the inside, Hall is lucky 20 doesn’t run a wheel route, which would have been a large gain. Instead, 20 runs a mere flat, a zone beater. Once the ball is thrown to the outside WR, Hall displays the potential of his short-area quickness by perfectly timing the collision with the receiver (contacting as soon as the ball hits the hands).
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