Chicago Bears: Could Deiondre’ Hall have a future at safety?
Can Deiondre’ Hall make a successful transition to safety for the Chicago Bears?
In a 2016 draft haul that produced multiple contributors for the Chicago Bears, Deiondre’ Hall remains arguably the biggest wild card of the bunch. One of three fourth-round picks, Hall earned playing time at cornerback early last season but missed nine games due to injury.
In his limited time, however, Hall showed a knack for finding the football in coverage (1 interceptions, 3 pass breakups in 4 games), which stood out for a Bears secondary that ranked 29th in interceptions (8) and 20th in pass breakups (68).
Now, in a podcast a few weeks ago, Rich Campbell and Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune floated the idea that the Bears could give Hall reps at safety, a position he played part-time at Northern Iowa.
Interestingly, more than one scout has hinted that Hall may fit better at safety than at corner long-term. For example, here’s his draft profile, courtesy of NFL.com:
"Long and lanky with the arm length and interception production that will have teams trying to find a spot for him. Hall doesn’t have the speed or mirror and match ability to be a sticky man-cover cornerback and his thin frame isn’t ideal as a safety. However, Hall’s instincts and tackle production scream safety if he can add muscle to his frame."
Might the Bears be onto something in exploring his versatility?
Wherever Hall plays, his ridiculous, condor-esque wingspan (34 3/8”) will serve him well, as will his natural instincts for separating the ball from receivers when in tight coverage.
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That said, Hall does have one flaw that is particularly an issue when playing on the outside: his lack of great speed. His 40-times (4.55 seconds at Pro Day; 4.68 seconds at Combine) align more closely with safety speed than with that for corners.
This showed up on the field a few times, as Hall was simply not fast enough at times to cover crossing routes and often found himself having to make plays from a trailing position.
Though his speed isn’t remarkable for a safety, either, his height and long arms could potentially make him a far better match-up for increasingly athletic tight ends than anyone the Bears currently have on their roster.
Of course, as mentioned above, he’d likely need to add weight and functional strength to match up with tight ends and play downhill against the run, in addition to learning a new position. But the potential payoff for Hall, and for the Bears, could prove worth it.
None of this is to say that Hall can’t play corner, especially since he still made plays despite his limited speed and inexperience last season.
And if he can continue learning to use his length against receivers to disrupt routes, there’s no reason to think that he could not be a productive player outside, especially against bigger receivers.
That said, with a possible logjam at corner and a shortage of playmaking safeties, even with the signing of Quintin Demps, seeing if Hall can play multiple positions at a high level would make a lot of sense.
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And even if the Bears draft Jamal Adams at #3 overall or another safety in the draft, it shouldn’t stop the Bears from exploring what he can do.
Regardless, Hall’s ability and on-field flashes are too intriguing to let him get lost in the shuffle. Adding versatility to his game is only going to help prevent that from happening.