Many think the switch should be simple, but they don’t take into account the new angles, responsibilities and reads that a safety has to make which a corner does not. Playing as an outside corner, Hall rarely had to do much more than worry about his man or his zone. But at safety, Hall has a much wider range of vision, having to account for receivers on both sides of the field. Instead of lining up on the outside every snap, Hall can go from sitting in the deep middle of the field one snap to covering a tight end or slot receiver the next, followed by playing a deep half the snap after that. There is much more variety to the safety position, particularly in the Redskins’ scheme. Hall’s football intelligence and versatility has helped him make the transition smoothly than others might have.

Here, Hall lines up about 15 yards off the line of scrimmage. He aligns close to the numbers, suggesting he has responsibility for his deep half of the field.

Hall reads the play intelligently. He spots the other receivers all making their breaks early, meaning the outside receiver is the only deep threat on his side of the field. As that receiver cuts inside, Hall breaks on the route. He keeps an eye on the quarterback to locate the ball as it’s thrown.

Hall can’t quite close on the route before the ball arrives, but he delivers a big hit, forcing the receiver to work hard to hold on to the ball and making sure there are no extra yards available after the catch.

Making reads as part of a two-deep look hasn’t been an issue for Hall. He’s done a good job reading routes correctly and breaking on them to take away throws.

This time, Hall lines up slightly closer to the hash marks, instead of the numbers. With outside corner Quinton Dunbar playing off his receiver, there’s a good chance Washington is in quarters coverage.

The Bills have wide receiver Sammy Watkins run a curl route. Hall notices he has no other receivers who threaten him deep, so gets his eyes on the quarterback. Hall then reads the quarterback, which takes him to Watkins’s curl route.

Hall undercuts the route, taking away the quarterback’s read. Pressure arrives and Tyrod Taylor begins the scramble. Hall quickly recognizes the threat and closes on the quarterback.

Hall then makes a good tackle, attacking Taylor’s hip and wrapping him up to bring him down for a minimal gain.

Hall hasn’t only played in soft coverages like cover-two and quarters. His versatility and history as a corner has allowed Washington to be versatile on the back end. They like to bring Hall down to the line of scrimmage and have him cover a tight end or a slot receiver.

Here, the Eagles split tight end Zach Ertz into the slot. Hall walks down to the line of scrimmage and lines up opposite him in man coverage.

Hall plays physically, applying a jam at the line of scrimmage on Ertz, who is forced off his original path.

Hall stays tight to Ertz, who begins to break back to the quarterback. Sam Bradford stares down Ertz, but he has no separation from Hall.

Hall’s coverage forces Bradford to move on to other reads, where he finds an open receiver on a crossing route.

Hall has also spent time as the single-high safety in the middle of the field.

On this play, the Eagles show a run-heavy formation with two tight ends to the right of the formation. But they fake the run and use a play-action pass with a tight end running across the middle of the field. Hall lines up 15 yards off the ball in the middle of the field.

Hall drops back further as the Eagles execute the play-action fake. But then Bradford begins his throwing motion, looking for his tight end over the middle. Hall reads the route and breaks on it as soon as Bradford begins his throwing motion.

Hall can’t quite get there before the ball, but he does an excellent job staying low and delivering a big hit that forces the ball loose. Unfortunately for Hall, the Eagles recover the fumble. But the read and the play were well executed.

That physicality is one of the most surprising parts of Hall’s transition to safety. An underrated aspect of the switch to safety is having a bigger role in the run game. Hall has embraced that added responsibility and brought a toughness factor that we haven’t previously seen from him.

Here, Hall lines up as the single-deep safety. The Bills use a specially designed run play, with running back LeSean McCoy starting his run to the right of the formation.

But after McCoy secures the ball and gets the defense, including Hall, moving to that side, McCoy stops and cuts back to the other side.

Hall spots the change of direction and quickly adjusts.

Hall gets to the line of scrimmage quickly, closing the gap between himself and McCoy. McCoy attempts to cut back inside but Hall lands another strong hit and wraps him up to tackle him for no gain.

It’s not just playing the run game either. Safeties have to be alert and react to screen plays.

Here, the Packers attempt to disguise a screen pass to the running back. They use their tight end on a short crossing route as a distraction, allowing the back to leak out of the backfield unnoticed. Hall starts from a two-deep safety look, but rotates down underneath into a robber role.

Hall reads the crossing route as Aaron Rodgers flashes his eyes towards the tight end. He begins to break on it as the back and interior offensive linemen work out on the screen play.

Hall spots the screen developing and adjusts accordingly. He quickly closes ground on the running back and makes the tackle before the Packers gain any significant yardage.

AD

AD

These types of plays, along with his ability in coverage, have shown the Hall has transitioned relatively smoothly to safety. It’s by no means an easy transition, but one Hall has done well and looks set to continue. Coach Jay Gruden appears set on Hall staying at safety in the long term.

“I think what he did in that role midseason, I think he’s going to solidify himself as one of the top safeties in the league,” Gruden said. “That’s my hope for him, and I really believe that. He’s got the skill set for it. He showed that he is not afraid whatsoever of tackling, number one. He’s got the range to cover sideline to sideline, he can come out of the box and cover tight ends or receivers. I’m really excited about having him there from Day 1 in OTAs and learning the position. I think moving forward it’s going to put a lot of years on his career if he wants to, and it’s going to be a huge benefit for us moving forward.”

Hall seems happy moving forward as a safety, although clearly he still would like to play corner. “I wouldn’t mind playing corner,” said Hall. “Obviously, I think they gave me enough time to let my Achilles’ kind of fully heal and kind of still getting that burst back, but I love playing safety. I like playing corner. I’ll do what I need to help this team or any team win, but I feel like I can be a hell of a safety. I feel like I can be one of the best safeties in the league. I’m enjoying the ride, and we’ll see what happens.”

AD

AD

Personally, I’ve long been skeptical of Hall moving to safety. But he’s performed at a high level over the second half of the season playing there. Having a veteran presence at safety to lead the secondary is beneficial. Having Hall’s skill set and versatility to move around allows the defense to use multiple personnel groups and disguise different coverages. They started to show some of that in their dime package later on in the season, which is something that should only improve with an entire offseason for Hall to work at safety.

Mark Bullock is The Insider’s Outsider, sharing his Redskins impressions without the benefit of access to the team. For more breakdowns, click here.

More from the Post: