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The Jets signed a late round pick, but he is probably . . .
. . . one of their top two or three most important draft picks in the 2020 draft.
Talking about the Jets inking fifth-round pick Bryce Hall.
One of the Jets’ biggest needs in the draft was cornerback, but they didn’t address the need until the fifth-round.
There was so much focus on the Jets needs on the line and at receiver, but cornerback was as big a need.
The Jets’ cornerback play last year, in fact the last few years, has been substandard. That position was such a problem the last few years, the position contributed to losses.
Up to last season, all three Jets cornerback spots were a problem for several years, but the nickel spot was much better last year with Brian Poole. The previous four seasons, the nickel play was poor, but many in the media covered for the player because he was very cooperative with the press.
Poole was re-signed, so the Jets are good in the slot, but a big project this off-season had to be fixing the outside cornerback positions.
The Jets moved on from the two men who entered the 2019 season as starting cornerbacks – Trumaine Johnson and Darryl Roberts – a pair that just didn’t work out for Gang Green.
The Jets signed journeyman cornerback Pierre Desir this off-season to start on one side. Some consider “journeyman” to be a pejorative, but is it? The reason I’m using that word with Desir is the Jets are his fifth team after stints with Cleveland, San Diego, Seattle, Indianapolis and now the Jets. That is quite a journey.
He might turn out to be solid, but the big question with him is health. He has been banged up a lot.
But who will start on the other side? That remains to be seen.
If Hall is healthy, it could be him. There is nobody else that really jumps off the page right now on the other side.
The Jets desperately need Hall to turn out to be a heck of a lot better than your typical fifth-round cornerback.
Hall slipped to the fifth-round because as a senior at the University of Virginia, he suffered a serious ankle injury, breaking his fibula and tearing his deltoid muscle.
If not for this injury, he likely would have been a second-round pick. Heck, if might have been a first-round pick if he ran well. Right now, nobody has a 40 time on him, which is scary to some scouts. 40’s aren’t important at all positions, but they certainly are at cornerback.
What Hall has, which certain Jets corners lacked the last few years, including the former nickel back, and one of the starters entering last year, are top-shelf instincts.
Something else you have to like about Hall is his attitude. He’s very focused and has great character. He will go out there and do his job without a lot of drama. He could eventually turn into a leader of the Jets’ secondary, sans all the drama.
The only question about this player is his speed. Watching his film, he didn’t seem like a speedster, and that was before the ankle injury. So the only real question about Hall is about his long speed and ability to stay in the hip pocket of a speedy receiver going deep.
But there is no way around it – Hall is one of the Jets’ most important 2020 picks.
June 4, 2020
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