Vikings Plan to Start Jaren Hall at QB vs. Falcons Despite Adding Josh Dobbs

Even after acquiring Josh Dobbs in a deadline day trade with the Cardinals on Tuesday, the Vikings plan on starting rookie Jaren Hall at quarterback against the Falcons this weekend, head coach Kevin O'Connell said.

Hall will get the first crack at earning the Vikings' starting job in the wake of Kirk Cousins' season-ending Achilles tear. He's been in the building with O'Connell and the team's coaching staff since being drafted in the fifth round out of BYU back in April. Hall knows the offense well, has been developing behind the scenes, and has been the team's backup since Nick Mullens went on injured reserve a few weeks ago.

He stepped in against the Packers in the fourth quarter, completed three of four passes, and lost a fumble on a strip sack. Now Hall gets this entire week to prepare for his first NFL start against a Falcons team that ranks 28th in pass defense DVOA.

"I think it's important for (Hall) to understand that there's really no reason to have a 30,000-foot view of what does this (trade for Dobbs) mean for my long-term career, my development and all those things," O'Connell said. "This is about playing one snap at a time and doing your job, making sure that you effectively run our offense. And it's on us as coaches to put together a plan that gives him an opportunity to do that. If we go about things the right way, there will be tremendous opportunities for growth on a play-to-play, drive-to-drive, and hopefully game-to-game basis that will allow us to watch Jaren grow before our very eyes."

"I think he's physically capable, I think he's mentally capable, I think he's made up of the right stuff, O'Connell continued. "I've loved the way he's attacked whatever role he's been in throughout the season. You do all those things that you do when nobody's really counting on you or thinking you're potentially going to be on the field. All of those lonely hours, lonely moments where he's with the coaches grinding on some extra work here and there, this is where you see the benefit of that. I'm excited to see the way Jaren goes about the week and performs on Sunday."

If Hall plays well against the Falcons, he'll almost certainly keep the job against the Saints the following week in Minneapolis. The Vikings are going to give him a legitimate opportunity to show what he can do.

Acquiring Dobbs is about having a fall-back plan if Hall — who is still a total unknown quantity — struggles. Dobbs has been starting games all season for the Cardinals and brings a level of athleticism and intelligence that could help him be effective in the Vikings' offense if he gets the nod at some point.

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