For New Orleans Saints fans, the seventh round of the NFL draft has been a place of legend—think Marques Colston and Zach Strief, two pillars of the Super Bowl XLIV championship team who defined an era of winning. More recently, linebacker Kaden Elliss showed flashes before departing and proving his starting ability elsewhere (which convinced the Saints to bring him back this offseason). But could a new name finally break the trend of recent seventh-round quiet? Enter TJ Hall, the Iowa Hawkeyes cornerback selected with the Saints' final pick in the 2026 draft.

Hall is turning heads for one simple reason: he looks tailor-made for the defense new coordinator Brandon Staley wants to run. With the secondary unsettled following Alontae Taylor's departure, Hall might just have a chance to see the field early. According to Justin Melo of NFL Draft OnSI, "It's rare that the seventh round produces any 'steals,' but we thought former Iowa cornerback TJ Hall would go earlier. He's very competitive with catch-point skills and produced a career-high 10 pass breakups this past campaign. The Saints got themselves a physical cornerback prospect who will compete for a roster spot."

Hall may not be a burner—he consistently timed the 40-yard dash in the 4.5-second range—but his experience in a zone-heavy scheme is exactly what Staley values. Staley ranked among league leaders by deploying his corners in zone coverage on roughly 68% of their snaps. Hall is at his best when the action unfolds in front of him, and that skill extends to run defense. Pro Football Focus charting shows he had an average depth of tackle at exactly 1.0 yard in run defense, missing just one tackle on 261 snaps against the run—the best mark among all Hawkeyes with 200 or more snaps. For a team looking to rebuild its defensive identity, that kind of reliability could be a game-changer.