Hobbits were definitely Men. They were
not descendants of the Drūgs. Professor Tolkien very clearly states that the two are different.
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The Drūgs or Pśkel-men are not however to be confused with or thought of as a mere variant on the hobbit theme. They were quite different in physical shape and appearance. Their average height (four feet) was only reached by exceptional hobbits; they were of heavier and stronger build; and their facial features were unlovely (judged by general human standards). Physically they shared the hairlessness of the lower face; but while the head-hair of the hobbits was abundant (but close and curly), the Drūgs had only sparse and lank hair on their heads and none at all on their legs and feet. In character and temperament they were at times merry and gay, like hobbits, but they had a grimmer side to their nature and could be sardonic and ruthless; and they had or were credited with strange or magical powers. (The tales, such as 'The Faithful Stone', that speak of their transferring part of their 'powers' to their artefacts, remind one in miniature of Sauron's transference of power to the foundation of the Barad-dūr and to the Ruling Ring.) Also the Drūgs were a frugal folk, and ate sparingly even in times of peace and plenty, and drank nothing but water. In some ways they resembled rather the Dwarves: in build and stature and endurance (though not in hair); in their skill in carving stone; in the grim side of their character; and in ',strange powers'. Though the 'magic' skills with which the Dwarves were credited were quite different; also the Dwarves were much grimmer; and they were long-lived, whereas the Drūgs were short-lived compared with other kinds of Men.
...Hobbits on the other hand were in nearly all respects normal Men, but of very short stature. They were called 'halflings'; but this refers to the normal height of men of Numenorean descent and of the Eldar(especially those of Noldorin descent), which appears to have been about seven of our feet. Their height at the periods concerned was usually more than three feet for men, though very few ever exceeded three foot six; women seldom exceeded three feet. They were not as numerous or variable as ordinary Men, but evidently more numerous and adaptable to different modes of life and habitat than the Drūgs, and when they are first encountered in the histories already showed divergences in colouring, stature, and build, and in their ways of life and preferences for different types of country to dwell in.
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'Of Dwarves and Men', Peoples of Middle Earth, HoME vol XII
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The Hobbits are, of course, really meant to be a branch of the specifically human race (not Elves or Dwarves) - hence the two kinds can dwell together (as at Bree), and are called just the Big Fok and Little Folk. They are entirely without non-human powers, but are represented as being more in touch with 'nature' (the soil and other living things, plants and animals). and abnormally, for humans. free from ambition or greed of wealth.
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Footnote to a letter to Milton Waldman, 1951
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... my 'hobbits' were in any case of dissimilar sort, a diminutive branch of the human race.
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Letter to Robert Lancelyn Green, 1971
[ February 03, 2003: Message edited by: Bruce MacCulloch ]