Chicago Bears: Deiondre Hall Ready to Start

Preseason is underway with an opportunity for rookies, undrafted free agents and new acquisitions to display their talents on the field.

The Chicago Bears have improved their backfield somewhat last season with the resurgence of cornerback Tracy Porter and the aggressiveness of rookie safety Adrian Amos. Kyle Fuller still seemed to struggle at times with press coverage, but managed to increase his tackles. However, rookie Deiondre Hall may be the next explosive cornerback in the league.

The safety and cornerback positions that were in desperate need of help was addressed by the Chicago Bears in the 2016 NFL Draft. Three safeties were taken, two from Round 4, Deon Bush of Miami University, (124th overall), Deiondre’ Hall of Northern Iowa, (127th overall) and DeAndre Houston-Carson of William & Mary, in the sixth-round (185 overall). The Bears were not going to be left out of the safety and cornerback goldmine that have come out of the draft.

With the fourth-round picks, the Bears kept Bush on as a safety and Hall at the cornerback position. In training camp and on the field both of them are proving to be an asset. During the first preseason game against the Denver Broncos, both Bush and Hall made plays in the backfield, with Hall as the most prominent of the two.

Prior to the NFL draft, scouts gathered together in masses at Hall’s pro day. Though he stands at the desired six-foot-one height, it was his enormous wingspan of 82 3/8 inches. In Iowa, he would play a lot of press-man coverage and against the Denver Broncos, he did just that. Placing him as a cornerback in Vic Fangio’s scheme suits him just fine.

Hall considers himself a ball hawk and mirrors his style of play to the recently-retired one-time Bears’ cornerback Charles “Peanut” Tillman. Tillman was best known for his press coverage and his ability to punch the ball out of an opponent’s hands.

Hall had two pass breakups that prevented two Broncos touchdowns. He also produced five key tackles and is favored to play a lot more through the preseason. With Kyle Fuller nursing a sore knee, this will be Hall’s opportunity to shine. He can easily earn a spot on the roster. When asked how he is coming along (via ChicagoBears.com), Hall said;

"“You know, trying to grow as much as possible and retain as much information as possible from Tracey, Kyle and whoever it may be. Um as much as possible, you know, get as much info to relay that back to my game.”"

With Game 2 of the preseason against the New England Patriots underway, watch for Hall to display more of his talents. He can force drops using his ranginess and length to pressure receivers. He is fun to watch as he reminds one of a young Tillman. As a matter of fact, he can be compared to as a Tillman-type 2.0. As was the case with the veteran corner, Fuller had four interceptions during his rookie season (2014).

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The way it looks now, Hall is destined to follow his predecessors. How will he do this? By making his own path to greatness. Hopefully, he will soak it all up and stay consistent in every game. Every game counts for a rookie trying to make it on a roster.

And for Hall, he is trying to cement his future with the Bears.