TJ Hall may be a seventh round pick, but the now New Orleans Saints cornerback has been praised for his technical ability. His questionable athletic profile dropped his stock, but draft analyst Justin Melo believes Hall can be a steal for New Orleans. With a bit of patience, Hall could develop into a quality depth piece in the Saints secondary. If he hits, Mickey Loomis will look brilliant for this draft steal.
"It's rare that the seventh round produces any "steals," but we thought former Iowa cornerback TJ Hall would go earlier. Hall is very competitive with catch-point skills. He produced a career-high 10 pass breakups for the Hawkeyes this past campaign. The New Orleans Saints got themselves a physical cornerback prospect who will compete for a roster spot," Melo wrote.
The Saints made two picks in the seventh round last year, Fadil Diggs and Moliki Matavao, and both players spent the majority of their rookie campaign on the practice squad. Hall has the chance to progress one step further and be a part of the 53 man roster. Luckily for him, cornerback isn't the deepest position on the team.
TJ Hall has a clear cut path to the Saints 53 man roster
The Saints kept five corners last season, and one of those players was Alontae Taylor. It'll be interesting to see if the math changes depending on who plays in the slot. If they keep 5 again, that leaves just enough room for Hall on the initial roster.
The top four options figure to be Kool-Aid McKinstry, Quincy Riley, Martin Emerson Jr and Issac Yiadom. Outside of the top two, there's no real certainty in the room. It leaves room for the rookie to make an impression as a corner, but it's going to take more than just that for Hall to differentiate himself from the pack.
One thing that will give Hall an extra boost is playing special teams. He did quite a bit of it during his earlier years at Iowa. He became a larger part of the defense in his junior and senior seasons, so he naturally played less special teams. He'll likely need to tap back into that as a rookie.
Hall was mostly used in punt return and kick coverage. He isn't the fastest corner, so the Saints using him as a gunner is doubtful. If Hall can show himself to be a valuable part of punt return or kickoff coverage, however, that will improve his standing with the team.
As a 7th round pick, it's a much steeper battle on your side of the ball in comparison to special teams to show your value to the team. Hill could be the fourth best cornerback, but proving himself to be an asset on special teams will lock down his spot on the roster.
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