Derick Hall is likely as much of a believer in Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald as anyone. Before Macdonald joined the team after the 2023 season, Hall was already bordering on being a bust. He was awful in his rookie season.
After Macdonald? The narrative is completely different. In his second season, Hall had eight sacks while being brilliant against the run. Last season, he was still elite against the run, but his sack total slid to two. Is that a concern at all? Macdonald says no.
In fact, speaking on Seattle Sports 710 AM on Thursday, the head coach said he has never even talked about Hall's raw statistics in terms of taking down quarterbacks. The reason is simple.
Mike Macdonald speaks the truth about Seattle Seahawks edge rusher Derick Hall
Macdonald said, "He's just a great player who we feel has an even brighter future. We feel like this is just the beginning of where his career can go. We've never had a conversation on his pass rush productivity. You feel it."
That last part is a testament to the player as much as the coach. The truth is that Macdonald's scheme works because of how each player fits. No one player needs to get 13 sacks for the entire defense to be great. Instead, a player like Hall can collapse the pocket while another gets the glory of getting the sack. Success is a group effort.
This, in turn, means that while Derick Hall only has 10 total sacks in the past two seasons, his three-year extension, valued at as much as $42 million, is more than worth it. Each year, overall, he has improved, and while he didn't have nearly as many sacks as the year before, he had more total pressures (51 to 45).
It is easy to forget that the Seattle Seahawks led the league in fewest points allowed last season, and were able to get consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks, despite both Derick Hall and Boye Mafe, who left in free agency to sign with the Cincinnati Bengals, each having only two sacks.
The number is a product of Mike Macdonald's system, which takes a village to be good, but having high-end talent in the scheme is a must, even if those players don't always have flashy statistics. The Seahawks know this, and they know the value of Hall, which is why he ended up being a priority to extend a season before his rookie contract was done.
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