PFF names unsung Seahawks pass rusher as their "secret superstar"

Much of the attention surrounding Seattle Seahawks pass rusher Derick Hall leading up to Sunday's matchup against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC championship game has been centered around "the stomp." Or, as I prefer to call it - "the skip."

But today he's garnering attention for a much more positive reason.

During the Seahawks dramatic 38-37 come-from-behind overtime win over the Rams in week 16, Hall was ejected for stepping on Rams guard Kevin Dotson's ankle. The injury sidelined Dotson for the Rams next three games, including their wild card round playoff win over the Carolina Panthers. Dotson returned to play in the Rams win over the Bears in Chicago on Sunday, and says he's looking forward to reuniting with Hall in this weekend's rematch. Hall was suspended for the Seahawks next contest, a week 17 win in Carolina.

Contrived drama aside (I've maintained that I saw no malice from Hall on the play, but he lost his appeal to the NFL and had to serve his suspension), Hall has quietly been one of the most dynamic Seahawk defenders on a roster loaded with those. Seattle finished No. 1 in the NFL this year defensively, giving up the fewest points in the league during the regular season.

And now Pro Football Focus is taking notice, naming Hall as Seattle's representative in their quest to identify each of the 32 team's "secret superstar."

"With the depth across Seattle’s defensive front, identifying a single standout was difficult, but Hall fit the bill as a quiet star. He led the Seahawks in pass-rush win rate (16.3%) and pressure rate (16.7%) while earning 70.0-plus PFF grades in both run defense and pass rushing, making him one of the most complete edge defenders on the roster."
Zach Tantillo, Pro Football Focus

Hall stands to make a little extra money if he should finish with a flourish Sunday, and potentially in the Super Bowl February 8th. He's entering the final year of the rookie deal he signed after Seattle selected him in the second round out of Auburn in the 2023 NFL draft. The Seahawks typically look to extend their key young players when they have one year left on their contract.

Meanwhile, who did PFF choose as the Los Angeles Rams entry in their tally of each team's secret superstar? None other than our old friend Poona Ford, who spent his first five seasons in Seattle after making the team as an undrafted free agent in 2018.

Here's Tantillo's take on Ford:

"Ford proved to be one of the league’s most impactful offseason additions after signing a three-year, $27.6 million contract with the Rams in free agency. He is the Rams’ highest-graded defender with an 88.1 PFF overall grade, bolstering an already vaunted defensive line. Ford also posted an 80.9 PFF run-defense grade, and 24.8% of his run-defense snaps resulted in a positive grade, the highest rate on the team."

Of all the great players in this matchup deserving of the spotlight on Sunday, Hall and Ford aren't quite at the top of the list. But whichever one of them plays their best in this one could go a long way toward determining which of these two teams advance to the Super Bowl two weeks from now.

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