Breece Hall would shine behind the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive line

One way or another, the Philadelphia Eagles are going to address their running back stable this offseason.

Now granted, it wouldn’t be the worst-case scenario if the team returned their entire rotation from 2021 for a second straight season of action under Nick Sirianni. The Birds had the best rushing attack in the NFL despite not having a 1,000-yard rusher, and could surely string together another impressive season, especially if Miles Sanders, Jordan Howard, Boston Scott, Kenneth Gainwell, and Jason Huntley can remain healthy and active all season long.

But after watching the Indianapolis Colts turn in a similarly impressive rushing season with Jonathan Taylor running the show, maybe it’s time to invest in an elite prospect once more. Maybe Howie Roseman should follow Chris Ballard’s lead, head into the draft with a plan, and leave it with a blue-chip bell cow who could set the tone of the running game for years to come.

I mean, when you have the best offensive line in the NFL and a quarterback who can also pick up chunk plays on the ground, having an elite running back – or a second one, depending on how you feel about Sanders – could be the difference between a 10 and 12 win season, which, in turn, could have a serious impact on the team’s playoff seeding.

If that’s the road the Philadelphia Eagles decide to travel, the name to watch in this year’s class is Iowa State’s Breece Hall.

Breece Hall is a perfect fit for the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense.

Breece Hall is a big, bad dude.

He was unquestionably the best player at Iowa State, where he amassed 4,675 yards on 800 plays and 56 touchdowns over his three seasons in Ames and accounted for 32 percent of the team’s offense himself as a true junior running back in 2021.

When the Cyclones needed to pick up yards on the ground, they turned to Hall, who averaged 5.8 yards per carry and scored a touchdown once every 12.65 carries; considering Hall averaged 21.1 carries per game, you can do the math on that one. While Hall isn’t going to make anyone forget about Alvin Kamara or Kenneth Gainwell anytime soon, he saw his average catches per game go up with each passing season and finished out 2021 with the third-most receiving yards on the Cyclones at 302. At 5-foot-11, 217 pounds, Hall looks more like Deebo Samuel with the ball in his hands than your typical pass-catching running back and will make similarly impressive moves in space when afforded an opportunity.

Throw that all together, and what do you have? An RB1 for sure… unless he really messed it up at the 2022 NFL Draft Combine.

Sure, on tape, Hall looks like the real deal. Despite running a little too upright for some people’s tastes, the pride of Omaha, Nebraska is one of the most explosive running backs you’ll see on a college football field and had 22 games with at least one run of 20-plus yards to his name at Iowa State, but just how fast would he run at the combine? Would he impress the evaluators in attendance, or would he struggle and watch his draft stock fall as a result?

Well, as it turns out, Hall’s stock is rising faster than the price of Philadelphia 76ers tickets post-James Harden trade. He ran a blazing fast 4.39 40, the sixth-fastest time of any running back in this year’s class, and backed it up with a running back leading 40-inch vertical, and a 126-inch broad jump, which ranks fourth among RB participants. While Hall measured in two inches shorter than he was listed at Iowa State, “shrinking” from 6-foot-1 to 5-foot-11, that was the only area where the future NFL rusher didn’t quite measure up, as he proved once and for all that he is worth being the top running back selected in this year’s class.

Considering the Philadelphia Eagles’ need for a power rusher, expansive collection of draft picks, and desire to add blue-chip talent, Breece Hall should be featured prominently on Howie Roseman’s draft board.

Imagine, if you will, a player like Hall running behind Jeff Stoutland’s offensive line. Imagine how he’d be able to burst into the second level without even sniffing contact and how well he’d be able to power through contact on fourth and short situations? Imagine how deadly Hall and Jalen Hurts could be in the read-option, especially on short-yardage plays where the correct read could be the difference between a big gain and a punt.

Like Jordan Howard, Hall is a one-cut runner who puts a foot in the ground and goes. Because of his size, power, and ability to seemingly always propel himself forward, Hall isn’t going to put many negative plays to tape, and when he does, it’s often offset by a string of good ones that resulted in a string of 36 games with positive rushing yardage.

Yeah, I would like to see that very much.

Unless Jalen Hurts takes a really big step forward in 2022, it’s pretty safe to say the Philadelphia Eagles are going to be a run-heavy team for the second-straight season. They’ll rely on their offensive line to set the tenor of a game, on Hurts to make just enough plays with his arm to keep alive important drives, and most importantly of all, their stable of backs to shoulder a heavy offensive load. Whether paired up with Miles Sanders or allowed to run the show solo with supplementary action from Boston Scott and Kenneth Gainwell, Breece Hall’s unique combination of speed, size, power, and finesse would set him up for immediate success in a midnight green uniform and give South Philly the sort of between-the-tackles bruiser that fans have been clamoring for since Duce Staley – the player – left town for Pittsburgh back in 2004.