Insider Reveals Browns’ Likely Plans With Mike Hall Jr.

The Cleveland Browns have a lot of exciting young pieces in place on both sides of the ball heading into the 2026 season. Early indications are that GM Andrew Berry cooked up another deep and talented draft class, and even though quarterback remains a concern, the pillars are in place for this franchise to turn things around and get headed in the right direction.

One area of concern at the moment is depth, which is where guys like Mike Hall Jr. need to step up. He is first in line behind Mason Graham and Maliek Collins at defensive tackle and after two injury-plagued years to begin his career, it’s time for him to take a step forward to help out this defense now that Myles Garrett is gone.

The Athletic’s Zac Jackson recently shared his intel regarding Hall’s potential role on defense. He indicated that he could be used and deployed in various roles up front and could see a lot of time at edge as well as on the interior.

“It’s unlikely that Hall would be a full-time defensive end, but he could earn rotational snaps as the defensive lineups continue to evolve. Given that Barnett was just added and Collins was just activated, the Browns haven’t had their likely opening day defensive line groups in a full practice yet,” Jackson wrote.

This would be a great development for Hall to be able to see more reps without having to take Graham or Collins off the field. He is bigger than a typical edge rusher, but he is capable enough to allow new defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg to get creative to find more ways to get him on the field.

Hall has 25 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 17 games over his first two years in the league and is capable of much more. The 23-year-old former second-round pick has a chance to establish himself as part of this young core, especially with Garrett gone. Jared Verse can’t replace 23 sacks by himself, and with Alex Wright now out for the year, Hall sliding to the outside more would be a great development for both him and the team.

This season is a big one for a lot of players on the roster, and Hall is right at the top of that list. It’s time for his potential to materialize into legitimate production.