The Raiders continued to shock people with their selections early in the 2018 NFL Draft, selecting PJ Hall from Sam Houston State with their second round pick. A little-known prospect at the time, Hall ended up rounding into a solid contributor for the Raiders late in his rookie year, and should play a big role for the team in 2019.
An incredible gifted athlete, Hall started the final five games for the Raiders, putting together his best game of the season during the team’s loss on the road to the Cincinnati Bengals. In that game, Hall had a season-high five tackles, and over the last three games of the year, he was able to get a hit on the quarterback at least once in each matchup.
Fellow rookie Maurice Hurst got a lot of the publicity this season, but Hall quietly put a nice year on the books. He is only going to get better, and next season, should be a full-time starter alongside Hurst in Paul Guenther’s 4-3 defense.