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Jimmy Hall has not had a textbook college career. Initially a safety, Hall was by no means a bad prospect in Northwestern's secondary. But for his senior year, Jimmy Hall moved up a level to start at linebacker. A kind of nickelback/linebacker hybrid, Hall was a key piece in Northwestern's defense. A player who could chip in in the run game, but, more importantly, a linebacker who could stay with slot receivers. He possesses a pretty unique skillset, but how will does that translate to the NFL?
Measurables
|
Height |
Weight |
40 |
Bench Press |
Broad Jump |
|
6'1'' |
228 |
4.44 |
24 reps |
10'10" |
Career Stats
|
Games |
Solo |
Total |
Sacks/TFL |
FF/FR |
INT/Yds |
|
|
2011 |
12 |
2 |
3 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
2012 |
9 |
4 |
5 |
0/.5 |
-- |
-- |
|
2013 |
11 |
21 |
36 |
-- |
-- |
1/- |
|
2014 |
12 |
40 |
58 |
0/5.5 |
1/3 |
2/-1 |
|
Total |
44 |
67 |
102 |
0/6 |
1/3 |
3/-1 |
Rankings and Projections
|
Overall Rank |
Position Rank |
Projected Round |
|
|
ESPN |
-- |
48 |
-- |
|
CBS Sports |
-- |
-- |
-- |
Highlights
Strengths
Jimmy Hall is a physical stud. Those measurable rank up there among the best at his position. A 4.44 40-yard dash is very fast. 24 reps is more than what Chi Chi Ariguzo put down, and a near 11-foot broad jump is pretty astonishing. Hall has been turning some heads with his workout numbers, and for good reason. Here's where we drop the cliché of "you can't teach size/speed/athleticism," but it is still true. Dude can move.
Weaknesses
Jimmy Hall, despite being really unique in his skillset, is not an everydown linebacker. Northwestern rotated in Drew Smith pretty frequently last year to beef up their run support, and for good reason. Hall is still kind of stuck in that tweener role. He's not really an NFL linebacker and he's not really an NFL safety. That's going to hold him back.
Overview
Those workout numbers alone should at least give Jimmy Hall a shot with an NFL camp. He's not going to be selected in the draft, but one could do worse than taking a shot on a linebacker who runs a sub 4.5 40. He's in a lot of ways the anti-Ariguzo. Ariguzo's on the field performance was great, but his athleticism will hold him back. Hall is an athletic freak who's still learning the linebacker position. Whether or not he's got a handle on the intracacies of the position will determine whether or not he can stick in the NFL.