This time two years ago the Raiders made P.J. Hall their pick in the second round of the draft. The Raiders had a need at defensive tackle, but Hall’s selection was greeted with some skepticism. Mainly because the Sam Houston State alum was considered a reach at 52 overall. Two years later, that criticism would appear to be warranted.
Now, it would appear the Raiders could try and use him as ammo to make a draft-day trade. The Athletic’s Michael Lombardi on Tuesday openly predicted Hall would be among several players teams will look to move during the draft.
Hall not being in the Raiders’ plans isn’t a big surprise. They brought in former Cowboys’ Defensive Coordinator Rod Marinelli to coach the defensive line and Marinelli already brought over several of his former players, including defensive tackle Maliek Collins.
Then Mike Mayock called out Hall at his press conference during the scouting combine in Indianapolis, suggesting they may not be pleased with his effort.
“P.J.’s got a challenge,” said Mayock. “We have a new defensive line coach coming in, and trust me, Rod Marinelli doesn’t put up with anything but 100 percent hustle. Nothing but.”
Hall had his moments, but he never broke out and became a regular starter, which is what you expect from a second-round pick. He took a backseat to fellow rookie fifth-round pick Maurice Hurst and free-agent pickup Johnathan Hankins. And now with the addition of Collins, Hall figures to fall even farther down the depth chart. Hopefully for the Raiders, Mayock’s words didn’t lower Hall’s value in trade. He may be worth a low round pick or packaged to move up in the mid-rounds.
