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DE Derick Hall, Auburn
There has been a forum-wide debate on retaining Frank Clark in 2023. We've had this debate all season. And I don't know what the correct answer is -- he obviously clears a ton of cap space that his play does not justify. But his presence allows you to speed up the development of younger passrushers, in addition to playing out of his mind in the playoffs. I only discuss Frank Clark this much, because the decision to keep him affects how I feel about going for Derick Hall in the 1st round.
Derick Hall, if this team develops him up to his potential, is the cure for everything this defensive line needs. It needs more dynamism on the edge, with a guy who can provide nonstop motor to provide essentially 50 snaps a game where every passrush has two rushes. The initial explosion and then the hustle as the play drags on. He is faster than all of our defensive ends, and though he is not an ideal Spags size (6'3", 250 lbs), he plays strong as a bull on run downs, not unlike Melvin Ingram. The Tigers dropped him into coverage a lot as well, which Spags doesn't really do but who knows.
The problem is that he's going to need something close to the Dee Ford-esque redshirt year. He has a lot of refinement in his technique left to do, and the potential explodes off the screen. Most of the things he does, however, offensive tackles can find ways to negate. It's possible that, like Dee Ford, he doesn't realize his potential until the last year or two of his contract. He's going to have that degree of a learning curve. Giving him Joe Cullen and a year or two of Frank Clark's tutelage is the recipe here if you're going to spend a 1st.
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