Draft-Week Buzz
- 2026-03-01 [NFL.com] — TJ Hall runs official 4.59-second 40-yard dash at 2026 NFL Combine
- 2026-03-01 [Sports Illustrated] — Iowa CB TJ Hall records 4.59-second 40-yard dash at NFL Combine, slowest among CBs
Buzz items pulled from beat-writer reports, ESPN/NFL.com transactions, Pro Day recaps, and verified Top 30 visit reports in the 30 days leading into the 2026 NFL Draft. Each linked headline goes to the original source. See our full draft-week news tab for cross-prospect timeline.
Scouting Nugget: Iowa 3-year starter
Expanded bio coming soon. This prospect is Cornerback #15 in the 2026 class.
Background
Iowa CB from Tampa (FL); three-year Hawkeye starter in Phil Parker's defense.
College Production
2023-25 Iowa: 110+ career tackles, 4 INTs, 20 PBUs.
Scouting Take
Fundamental zone-coverage corner. Plus tackler. Athletic testing below NFL alpha threshold.
Draft Projection
Round 6-7. Rotational outside CB + STer.
Sources
Our scouting profile is assembled from these primary sources + cross-checked against ESPN (Kiper / Reid / Miller), PFF's 2026 Big Board, Dane Brugler's The Beast 2026, and Daniel Jeremiah's top-50. See our full methodology and citations.
Day 2 / Day 3 Team Fits
NFL teams that lost a same-position veteran this offseason — and could target TJ Hall as a Day 2/3 replacement option.
- VERIFIED Kansas City Chiefs: traded away Trent McDuffie (press-CB) on 2026-03-16. [verified]
Picks held: R1 #9; R1 #29 via Los Angeles Rams; R2 #40 - REPORTED New Orleans Saints: moved on from Marshon Lattimore (press-CB).
Picks held: R1 #8; R2 #42 - REPORTED Buffalo Bills: moved on from Taron Johnson (slot-CB).
Picks held: R1 #26
Confidence: "VERIFIED" departures cite a publication URL (Spotrac, OverTheCap, ESPN, NFL.com, team transactions page) confirming the move and date. "REPORTED" entries come from public free-agency trackers without a single canonical source we could attach. Fits are archetype-and-position based; we are not claiming the team has expressed interest in the prospect.
NFL Scheme Fit
NFL Scheme Fit
- Cover-3 press-bail / Seattle-style boundary CB
Seattle Seahawks · Detroit Lions · Pittsburgh Steelers · Cincinnati Bengals
Scheme matches are bucketed from the prospect's height, weight, and (for WRs) archetype tag against a static lookup of which NFL teams currently run each scheme family.
Rookie Contract & Landing-Spot Outlook
Projected Rookie Contract Value
~$4.3M – $4.6M (4-year deal) · Pick range: #161-200 · ~10% guaranteed
Minimum 4-yr deal + small bonus
Best-Case / Worst-Case Landing Spot
Why: CB listed in their top-5 positional needs; runs a scheme that maximizes his profile.
Year-1 arc: Day-1 starter window with cap-controlled rookie-contract production.
Why: CB not in their stated top-5 needs; runs a scheme that doesn't naturally amplify his profile.
Year-1 arc: Depth-chart competition + special-teams reps as Year-1 baseline.
Contract band uses the 2026 NFL CBA rookie wage scale projected from the prospect's expected pick range; guarantee % is the slot-default at that pick. Landing-spot best/worst case is derived from TEAMS data (positional needs + scheme overlap minus same-position R1 conflicts) — not a claim that either team has expressed interest.
Versatility, Limits & Roster Pathway
Biggest Limiting Trait LOW
100th-percentile height for the position — Frame is among the tallest at the position — long-strider transitions on sharp routes / change-of-direction reps are the typical scout flag for this profile.
Day-3 NFL Roster Pathway
Day 3 projection means a 53-man roster spot is not guaranteed — special-teams contribution (kick/punt coverage, gunner, return-game blocking) is the typical first-year survival path.
Derived from height/weight against the 2026 position cohort and the prospect's projected round. Versatility callouts identify alternate alignments NFL teams have historically used for similar size profiles. Limiting-trait notes flag the single most-cited measurable concern; severity reflects how often that flag ends a Day 1 starter projection. Roster-pathway notes describe the realistic Year 1 NFL role for Day 3 picks.
By the Numbers — 2026 Class Context
- Frame: Among 2026 CB prospects, his 6-1 / 190 lbs frame sits at the 100th percentile in height and 59th percentile in weight.
- Position class: TJ Hall is CB #15 of 29 ranked CBs in the 2026 class. Of those, 3 are projected in the R6 range.
- School pipeline: One of 6 Iowa prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft — but the only CB.
Computed factually from the 2026 prospect class roster — height/weight percentiles benchmark this player against every other ranked prospect at the same position. Recruiting arc compares his high-school 247Sports/Rivals composite to his current projected round.
TJ Hall’s NFL Archetype: Patrick Surtain II
Patrick Surtain II (Denver Broncos)
Closest CB physical profile in the modern NFL: 6-1/190 lbs. Same frame, same role bucket — NOT a talent or career-arc projection.
Note: this is a physical-profile match — frame, position, role bucket. Not a talent or career-arc projection.
Similar Cornerback Prospects
Closest matches to TJ Hall (6-1 / 190 lbs, #15 CB) by ranking proximity and physical profile. SIZE MATCH = within 1″ height and 10 lbs; TIER MATCH = within 2 ranking spots.
- Andre FullerSIZE MATCH Toledo · 6-1/190 lbs · #16 CB · R7
- Latrell McCutchin Sr.SIZE MATCH Houston · 6-0/190 lbs · #14 CB · R6
- Ceyair WrightSIZE MATCH Nebraska · 6-1/190 lbs · #18 CB · R7
- Ahmari HarveySIZE MATCH Georgia Tech · 6-0/190 lbs · #13 CB · R6
- Collin WrightSIZE MATCH Stanford · 6-0/185 lbs · #17 CB · R7
Iowa & The 2026 Class
More from Iowa
- Aaron Graves · EDGE #16 · R5-R6
- Logan Jones · IOL #7 · R3
- Mark Gronowski · QB #30 · UDFA
- Xavier Nwankpa · S #20 · R7-UDFA
- Kaden Wetjen · WR #27 · R6
Other R6-R7 prospects in the 2026 class
Different positions, same projected draft tier as TJ Hall.
- DJ Lagway · QB · Florida
- Trey Smack · K · Florida
- Ryan Eckley · P · Michigan State
- Taylen Green · QB · Arkansas
- Chip Trayanum · RB · Toledo
- Vinny Anthony II · WR · Wisconsin