Darren
Hall.
Darren
Hall.
San Diego St.· 5'11"· 188 lb· 4.47s 40
"A 5'11"/188 San Diego State corner with a 9.65 RAS and three years of Mountain West starter tape (10-plus career INTs) — a Round-4 zone-heavy CB4/special-teams projection where the movement traits sold the pick."Pre-draft read
He aligns as an outside cornerback within a zone system, tracking the quarterback rather than focusing solely on the receiver. He employs a smooth hip-flip out of a bail technique, demonstrating burst when driving on curl and comeback routes, and exhibits above-average ball tracking skills. His play relies more on foot quickness and route anticipation than on physical tools like length or sheer strength.
At the line of scrimmage, he will engage in press coverage but lacks the power to consistently reroute receivers due to his frame and arm length. In run support, he approaches blocks and comes downhill without hesitation, executing form tackles. However, he is a form tackler rather than a striker and can be affected by physical slot players. He wins with short-area movement and ball production.
A pattern-match zone scheme with significant Cover 3 and Cover 6 to the boundary, emphasizing defensive backs who read the quarterback and break with burst; ideal for teams who want to limit shot plays and work with their eyes on the ball.
Year 1 depth and special teams ace with a ceiling as an outside zone-based CB4.
A press-man heavy scheme where he is routinely left on an island against NFL-caliber WR1s.
Hall is a quality zone corner with ball production and special teams value, but his physical limitations dictate a very specific scheme fit to maximize his impact.
Darren Hall college highlights — 2021 NFL Draft
Official Falcons pre-signing cutup of the SDSU tape: off-zone triggers, breaks on comebacks, and ball production.
Darren Hall Pass Deflection on Josh Ali
Rookie-year Falcons rep — bail technique into an outside-hip break, PBU on a high-low concept.
SDSU Football: Darren Hall Selected by Atlanta
Draft-night SDSU package including SDSU career film cutaways and the scheme context of his zone role.
He projects as a depth cornerback with special teams value, primarily fitting schemes utilizing his zone coverage understanding and short-area quickness. His value proposition centers on demonstrated ball production and an athletic profile signaling development potential within specific defensive contexts. The trade-off for his physical limitations was acceptable given on-field output and testing.
At San Diego State, he developed into a three-year starter, earning back-to-back All-Mountain West selections in an off-zone scheme. This highlighted his ability to read quarterbacks, anticipate routes, and tackle in space, consistently placing him in contexts maximizing his vision and triggers. This culminated in significant career interception numbers; he benefited from a scheme that leveraged his strengths without exposing primary weaknesses.
Evaluators consistently flagged his 5'11", 188-pound frame and sub-31-inch arms as potential issues against NFL outside receivers, especially in press coverage. Despite these concerns, an elite pro day, including a 4.28 shuttle, elevated him into the mid-fourth-round conversation. He was ultimately drafted at pick 108 by the Falcons, aligning with his overall projection as a zone-scheme defender with special teams upside.
- 01
Ball production and tracking
Accumulated 10 career interceptions and numerous pass breakups over three years, demonstrating consistent eyes in zone coverage and effective ball tracking.
- 02
Zone scheme comfort
Operated effectively in a defense featuring pattern-match Cover 3 and quarters looks, showing a smooth backpedal and disciplined transitions with no wasted steps.
- 03
Short-area quickness
His 4.28 shuttle time translated to tight breaks on routes like curls, comebacks, and digs when he was able to read the quarterback's intentions.
- 04
Willing run support and tackling
Consistently engages blocks and comes downhill, performing as a form tackler. His approach to run support suggested immediate special teams potential.
- 05
Multi-year starter production
Three years as a starting FBS outside corner in the Mountain West, earning back-to-back All-Conference honors, indicating a consistent and large sample size of performance.
- 01
Frame and arm length
Standing 5'11" and 188 pounds with sub-31-inch arms, he faced challenges against larger NFL X-receivers who could stack him at the top of routes.
- 02
Press technique
While willing to press, he lacked the power to consistently disrupt quicker releases, often granting free access to a receiver's route tree.
- 03
Level of competition
Primarily competed in the Mountain West, limiting his exposure to true NFL-caliber boundary X-receivers and raising questions about translating his skills to the next level.
- 04
Recovery in man coverage
When beaten early on double moves or vertical stems, his long speed was not consistently sufficient to recover from a trailing position, making him more of a positional than a chase-and-catch corner.
Relative Athletic Score (Kent Lee Platte) benchmarks combine/pro-day numbers against every measured prospect at the position since 1987. 10.00 is elite; 5.00 is average.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.47sp50
- Vertical
- 38.5inp50
- Broad jump
- 132inp50
- Three-cone
- 7.07sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.28sp50
- Bench
- 16repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | San Diego State | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | San Diego State | 12 | 45 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 2019 | San Diego State | 12 | 49 | 1.5 | 1 | 16 | 0 |
| 2020 | San Diego State | 8 | 37 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| Career | — | 35 | 134 | 2.5 | 6 | 25 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Athletic Day 2/3 outside corner whose testing outran the play strength; workable starter in the right coverage system, exposed in man.
Undersized, quick-footed zone corner who overachieved the draft slot on scheme fit, tackling and ball production.
Rotational Day 3 outside corner and special-teams contributor whose ceiling stayed at CB4/CB5 with occasional starts.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Bust. Rotational Year 1, cut before Year 3. Journeyman practice-squad corner through 2024. Out of the league by 2025.
**Pre-draft context.** Darren Hall came to San Diego State as a lightly recruited two-star out of Sacramento and left as one of the most productive corners in program history. Three-year starter, back-to-back All-Mountain West honors, and 10 career interceptions in a defense that lived in three-safety looks and off-zone coverage. His 2020 tape carried the evaluation: sticky footwork in press-bail alignments, tight break on comeback and curl routes, and enough ball production to appear on every Group of Five watch list. At his SDSU pro day he measured 5'11", 188 pounds and ran a 4.47 forty with a 38.5-inch vertical, a 132-inch broad, a 7.07 three-cone and a 4.28 shuttle — a 9.65 RAS that quietly moved him from a Day 3 flier to a firm mid-Round-4 grade. Consensus boards had him graded as a zone-scheme corner with special-teams value.
**NFL fit — Atlanta Falcons.** An Atlanta personnel evaluator took Hall at 108 in the first Falcons draft of their tenure, betting on the athletic profile and the willing-tackler component to plug the back end of a rebuilt secondary. He hit the field early — 17 games as a rookie, spot starts when A.J. Terrell missed time and Fabian Moreau rotated, plus real special-teams volume. The tape was more mixed than the box score: he held up in zone but got attacked in man reps, and his press technique still needed refinement against NFL-caliber releases.
**Retrospective.** By 2022 the Falcons had drafted Clark Phillips III's future replacements around him, and Hall's role shrank to depth and coverage teams. Atlanta cut him in the 2023 preseason cycle; Arizona picked him up and used him as a rotational corner and special-teamer under a new defensive system, extending his career past the typical Day 3 CB expiration. Viewed against the pick, 108 landed as a fair Day 3 outcome: multiple NFL seasons, real special-teams value, but never the CB2 the Falcons hoped the RAS profile would unlock.