Seahawks Outside Linebacker Derick Hall Showing He’s Poised To Make A Year 2 Leap

For Hall to make a play in the run game shouldn’t come as a surprise, that’s what he did best as a rookie and will be expected to do even more in 2024 as his playing time should increase. What Hall wants to do more in Year 2 is make plays like the sack he had in the first quarter, or the speed rush that nearly led to another sack, though Willis was able to escape that time. Hall put an emphasis on improving his pass rush heading into this season, and the results have been showing up in practice and now in the preseason games as well.

“I think I’ve grown a lot,” Hall said. “I’ve always been a good run defender, then going into it and becoming a better pass rusher—that was the biggest thing coming off of last year and going into the offseason and into this summer—being able to develop that and being able to see the fruition of that is really good for me.”

Hall made contributions as a rookie both on defense and special teams, but not quite the level he was hoping when the Seahawks selected him out of Auburn. He knows there’s still work to be done, but he expects a lot more in Year 2, and early indications are he could be heading towards a breakout year.

“Personally, I don’t think it was up to par for my liking,” Hall said of his rookie campaign. “There’s a lot of things I could have done better—being to understand the game better, being able to understand situations better, going about taking care of my body better, so now, having that year under my belt, being able to do a lot of those things on a consistent basis, I feel great, everything’s rolling fast and smooth, so I feel good. I’m ready to bring more to this defense.”

And while Macdonald wasn’t around for Hall’s rookie season, he has noticed the growth in the time he has been around Hall and he likes what he’s seeing.

“I’m glad that he has improved his entire game as a football player,” Macdonald said. “You can play him all three downs. His fastball is power on the edge, so use it. It’s OK to do the things you’re good at then have a changeup. People have all these moves these days off the edge, and that’s good, but there’s only so many you’re going to be able to throw, so we encourage guys to have their fastball, then have a changeup or two off of it. But I think you’ve seen the power, then how we’re running our games, and how we’re kind of rushing four as one, and I think he’s generating a feel for what we expect and the timing of…