Virginia Cavaliers CB Bryce Hall was an electric player during his time in Charlottesville until a gruesome ankle injury ended his senior season. As with most expected top draft picks, a season-ending injury can cost a player millions not just on draft day, but over the course of his career. Hall was a vital cog to the rebirth of Cavalier football but was unable to finish what he started. Despite ending his season early, there are questions whether Hall will be able to perform effectively at the next level and whether he is worth an early-round draft pick.

Prior to Hall’s injury, he had been an exceptional and healthy player, appearing in 44 games since his freshman year along with 39 starts. He accumulated multiple All-American honors from various publications along with first-team All-ACC following his junior year. Going into his senior year, he was on numerous lists for preseason All-American and watch lists for the end of season awards. He was looking quite appealing as an NFL prospect and for the most part, still is despite the injury.

Ankle anatomy

Before diving into the injury, a brief anatomy lesson on the ankle. The ankle is made up of the tibia, fibula, and talus. The tibia creates medial malleolus which is the inside portion of the ankle is the distal area. The fibula creates the lateral malleolus which is the outside portion of the ankle. Finally, the talus is a dome-shaped piece of bone that the tibia and fibula articulate with in order to create the joint movements required of the ankle. Connecting all the bones together is the various ankle ligaments as seen below.

The ankle allows for plantarflexion or toes pointed down, dorsiflexion or toes pointing up, eversion or toes pointed outward, and inversion or toes pointed inward. These motions are essential for everyday activities and allow for the lower extremity to adjust to uneven terrain or absorb landing from jumping to reduce stress on the hip and knee joints. 

The injury

Hall suffered his left ankle injury while covering a punt in the second quarter against Miami last season. He was attempting to maintain his blocking role for his returner when he got driven back over a fallen Miami player and fell down. As he was getting pushed over, his left foot got caught under the fallen Miami player, forcing his foot to stay in place while his body continued to go down. As a result, he suffered a fractured fibula and dislocated ankle. He required a cart off and season-ending surgery.

Due to how Hall fell, he was able to spare his tibia — which is the shin bone — because he fell away from the inside portion of his ankle. Falling to his left broke his lateral malleolus which is the distal portion of the fibula or the outside ankle. He also suffered the dislocation due to the fibula fracture creating instability in the area, allowing the talus to slide away from the tibia. This tore numerous ligaments which further complicates rehabilitation following surgery. 

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It’s known he suffered a break along with the dislocation causing ligament damage but it’s not known whether he suffered any additional damage. It’s also unknown if any of the ligaments in the area required repair or simply immobilization to heal following the fracture. We do know that he had surgery shortly after the injury, specifically Oct. 14, according to reports. 

NFL Combine and surgical outcomes

He would have required an open reduction internal fixation with a plate and screws to stabilize the area as seen below. This would have been followed by several weeks of non-weightbearing to the ankle to allow for maximum healing. He was able to participate in the NFL Combine, though extremely limited, only in the bench press. This indicates that he was healthy enough to walk and put weight through the leg, but not healthy enough for agility drills. 

At the time of the Combine, he was roughly four months out from surgery. He would have passed all basic rehab protocols and cleared for most activities. Had his pro day not been canceled, there would have been an outside chance he would be able to perform some drills or even run. 

Looking at the Combine specifically, over half of the athletes at the annual pre-draft assessment from 2009-2015 had some type of ankle injury whether it be soft tissue or fracture. To note, this did include ankle sprains, fractures, Achilles and other tendon injuries. What this boils down to is this type of injury isn’t a huge deterrent from a team looking to draft a player. 

Epidemiologic studies of distal fibula fractures in the NFL indicate that 90% of players that suffered a distal fibula fracture returned to play. Furthermore, 95% that had a combined fracture involving more than just the distal fibula which included ankle dislocations were able to return to play. The average return to play with surgery was 145 days with surgery which is just under five months recovery. Considering how long the season is, most often, these are season-ending injuries, but not career-ending.

NFL Draft impact

Hall may have missed his shot at the first round having stayed for his senior season. According to Pro Football Focus’ Michael Renner, he had projected Hall to be the first corner off the board. Based on results from the 2019 NFL Draft, he would have been slotted in at the very end of the first round. 

Hall stayed for one more season and while his draft stock may have taken a hit from the ankle injury, it does not appear that it will drop him considerably. Cover 1’s Christian Page projects Hall to be a late Day 2 pick. I can certainly agree with that projection as Hall is a top talent, but teams may have more pressing needs to address before they look at cornerback. In 2019, only one cornerback was selected in the first round. Seven were taken in the second round and three in the third. 

While Hall’s ankle injury was gruesome, it should not prevent him from returning to full strength. Barring any setbacks with further injury or trying to rush through the rehab, he should be able to play without any restrictions come Week 1. He doesn’t project to be a starter immediately but could be worked into a rotation or in certain packages in order to get playing time.

A strong comparison to what Hall is dealing with is Bills LB Matt Milano. He suffered a similar injury at the end of 2018 which cost him the few remaining games but he was able to return to full health come training camp. Other comparable NFL injuries of this type include WR Allen Hurns and TE Delanie Walker, both of whom were able to return to play following their respective injuries. Thankfully, Hall has the added benefit of having extra time for complete recovery as compared to Milano and Hurns who suffered their respective injuries late in the season. 

His ankle injury, like most fractures, is simply bad luck. There was nothing he could have done to prevent it and the re-injury rate is inconsequential as the area has been surgically reinforced with a plate and screws. These types of injuries are merely a result of highly athletic people running at full speed and hitting each other. 

He could be an excellent value pick on Day 2 that proves to be an effective player at the next level as he adjusts to the NFL game. He is someone that, despite the injury, I have no reservations on taking looking outside from an injury standpoint. The only way he drops is if there are unknown complications with the ankle, he simply didn’t interview well or teams don’t like his film. 

I expect Hall will hear his name called Day 2. There is a possibility to be chosen in the second round if a run on cornerbacks occurs, similar to last year. He is an NFL ready talent and medically should be sound to contribute at the next level.