San Francisco 49ers Undrafted Free Agent Signings: Derek Hall

Fooch's Note: Things are relatively quiet (for now) so I've had nocal taking a look at some of the 49ers undrafted free agents. Once we get to the first round of cuts in a couple weeks some of these guys will be walking, so we might as well get to know them while we still can.

Some of these signings are going to be nothing more than training camp fodder. San Francisco is going to have 90 men in camp, and only 53 are going to make the final roster with 8 more on the practice squad. That leaves about 30 players out on the street. 

Is Derek Hall going to be one of those players?

CBS Sports Line has Derek Hall as the highest rated offense tackle that went undrafted. They ranked him 220th overall and the 19th best offensive tackle in the draft. For the purpose of full disclosure that he was ranked 80 slots ahead of Daniel Kilgore, who the 49ers took in the 5th round of the draft; say what you want about that.

The following scouting report comes to you from Draft Ace:

Adequate size and strength. Plenty of upside; a converted defensive lineman who is still learning the position. Impressive production considering his limited experience. Above average athleticism. Has the strength to move inside to guard. Could provide depth at four spots on the offensive line.

 

 

Weaknesses: Due to lack of experience, won't be able to contribute immediately. Technique still needs a lot of work. Looked hesitant at times; needs to develop a mean streak to be a dominant blocker. Comments: Hall is an interesting prospect due to his limited experience. He has almost no upside for the 2011 season, but he definitely has the long-term upside to warrant a mid-to-late round pick.

 

I don't have a lot to go by in terms of my knowledge of Hall. There has been some video of Stanford's offensive line play on You Tube as well as various draft sites that I subscribe to. A lot of those videos focused on Chase Beeler, who I covered earlier today. But, you are able to see some real talent from Hall a long the offensive line.

Hall didn't start until he was a 5th year Senior at Stanford, and only saw a little bit of game action to that. Needless to say, he isn't ready for the every day grind of the NFL. You cannot expect a player with that limited of game experience at a high level to come in an contribute in this league. This could have been one of the reasons that he dropped out of the class, teams were unwilling to spend a pick on a player with such limited experience. 

Hall's flexibility is an asset, he can play both guard and tackles position, which is an extreme plus. However, San Francisco does have some sort of depth at those positions. Alex Boone has proven he will be a solid NFL offensive tackle, Adam Snyder isn't a bad backup guard and the 49ers will most likely either retain Barry Sims or grab a veteran tackle to backup Joe Staley. 

This coupled with the fact that San Francisco drafted Daniel Kilgore and Mike Person in the draft leads me to believe that Hall is a training camp body. However, he will be given a chance to compete for a  practice squad position because there is a nice amount of upside there.