Breece Hall Scouting Report: NFL Draft Prospect Report

 

Running back, Iowa State, # 28

 

Measurements

6′ 1″ / 220 lbs

Breece Hall 40 Time: 4.43 seconds coming out of high school

Updated Breece Hall 40 time:  NFL Draft Combine 40 time was an official 4.39

 

Breece Hall NFL Draft Player Profile

Coming out of Wichita Northwest High School in Kansas, Hall was a four-star rated prospect by 247Sports. Breece was a two-time First-Team All-State and All-Metro selection. He earned an invite to the 2019 All-American Bowl after his senior season. Hall put up 2,127 yards rushing with 29 touchdowns as a senior, earning Metro Player of the Year. Interestingly enough, Breece didn’t play varsity football until his junior season. According to his high school coach Steve Martin, he had the talent but needed to work on the intangibles. So instead he was regulated down to the JV squad. His JV team put up crazy numbers and in the long run Hall was better off for it. For the full story click the link.

 

College Career

He signed with Iowa State and in his freshman season he would play in 12 games, starting the last seven. Hall would rack up 897 rushing yards with 9 touchdowns, adding 252 yards and one touchdown receiving. This performance would earn Breece a Second-Team All-Big 12 selection from the conference’s coaches. His sophomore season would be the one that brought Hall’s name into the national spotlight. Starting in 11 of the Cyclones 12 games, Breece would rush for 1,572 yards and 21 touchdowns. This would lead the nation and help Hall finish sixth in the Heisman Trophy balloting. He would earn a First-Team All-Big 12 selection, as well as Big 12 Player of the Year. Breece was also honored with First-Team All-American nominations from FWAA, AP, AFCA, and Walter Camp.

To start the 2021 season, Hall would be added to the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp, and Doak Walker Award watchlists. He was also awarded preseason All-American and All-Big 12. So far this season Breece has helped the Cyclones out to a 4-2 start. He’s chipped in 748 yards rushing with 10 touchdowns and another 152 yards and a touchdown receiving through six games. He’s starting to heat up, rushing for 100+ yards in each of his last four games. This includes 197 yards vs Kansas St. and another 190 yards vs Baylor. He currently sits 10^th in the nation in total rushing yards.

 

 

Breece Hall Scouting Report Strengths

 

Patience

When Breece receives the handoff, he doesn’t blindly run ahead hoping for something to happen. Instead he does a nice job of waiting for a hole to open up and then hits it. There were a few times I wondered why he didn’t simply just bounce the ball outside and try to take the edge. Then suddenly he’d plant his foot and burst through the line. His vision is really nice and allows him to see these holes that are barely even there.

 

Powerful Runner

While Hall has nice balance, and can make defenders miss in open space, I was more impressed with his power. Breece isn’t afraid to lower his shoulder to get those few extra yards. Especially at the goal line, I saw more than a handful of examples where he decided he’d rather go through the defender than around. Another nice display of his power is displayed while going to the ground. Whenever Hall is tackled, he still finds a way to fall forward and gain an extra yard or two.

Burst and Speed

We’ve already talked about Breece’s patience and vision which allows him to hit the holes as they open up. Hall also has a nice initial burst when planting his foot and deciding to get up the field. Not only is the initial burst of speed nice, but Breece has a solid top speed. I was a little shocked to see that he ran a 4.43 40 in high school, because it doesn’t translate with pads on. While Hall isn’t necessarily going to be running away from defenders, he’s still a threat to break off a long run with it. (Breece Hall 40 time update from NFL Draft Combine 4.39.)

Breece Hall Scouting Report Weaknesses

Route Running

I was truly disappointed here. I want to start by saying that Breece is a serviceable pass catcher. But the amount of effort that I saw in his route running was laughable. Most of the times it looked like he was out for a nice little Saturday afternoon walk. On flat routes, he would just kind of meander his way out to the numbers and then just turn around and stand there. When running out or in routes, it was more of just running into a linebacker and then stopping. Clearly the Iowa coaching staff doesn’t view him as a true option, because he spends most of third downs on the sideline. Against Iowa he barely played in the 2^nd half when they were attempting to make a comeback.

Pass Protection

It isn’t something I saw a lot of when watching film for the Breece Hall scouting report. Mainly because he was on the sideline on most passing situations. The little bit that I saw from him though wasn’t pretty. His pass blocking style was more of just standing in the way of the defender and bear hugging him. If he wants to be seen as a three-down back in the NFL, which I believe he can be, he’s going to have to put in some work in this area.

Breece Hall Draft Stock

Hall entered the season as most draft experts #1 running back. That was no different here at Draft Dive, as he was the #1 running back and #26 overall draft prospect in the preseason. Breece is still putting up impressive numbers, but it doesn’t seem like he’s the consensus #1 at the position anymore. That being said, he will still find himself being chosen as one of the top backs next April in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Final Thoughts on Breece Hall

If we were looking at Hall as just a runner, he’s the best running back in the 2022 NFL Draft class. He’s got a great combination of size, speed, and power. As just a pure runner, I don’t think you could ask for more. Sadly, in today’s NFL you need to be able to catch the ball out of the backfield as well as well as pass block.

This is where Breece gets moved out of the #1 spot for me personally. Running back is a position that most GM’s feel like they can find better value later in the draft. Because of this, I think Hall is most likely to hear his name called in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft. He’s got too much running ability to last longer than that, but I can’t place a first round label on him with his passing game deficiencies.

Breece Hall Pro Comparison: Le’Veon Bell

Breece Hall Scouting Report by Brandon Claburn