He's going to be the QB for at least a week and maybe longer. He's a 3rd string 5th round developmental guy so you immediately think "we're doomed" and we may be. We definitely need to bring in at least one more QB from somewhere. There's only one on the roster at the moment. That said, he's still a good enough QB to make it into the NFL draft and in reality, on some level all of those guys have at least a little chance.
Anyway, with the ascension of Addison and Jefferson coming back at some point as long as this guy has a strong enough arm he might be ok. With Jefferson being a "throw it up there" receiver, Addison trending that way, and Hockenson as a great outlet, it might be a situation where the WRs make the QB. He's also very athletic and with the WRs getting so much attention he might be able to make some plays that way.
The 25-year-old Hall was born and raised in Utah, where he attended BYU, initially as the backup to current Jets QB Zach Wilson. After barely seeing the field for his first three seasons, he went 8-2 as the starter in 2021, then posted even better numbers (31 touchdowns, six interceptions) in 2022, finishing with 52 TDs and just 11 INTs, along with 800 rushing yards, in his college career.
Hall, who also played baseball at BYU, was drafted in the fifth round (No. 164 overall) by the Vikings this spring.
Here was CBS Sports' scouting report on the QB ahead of the 2023 draft:
Jaren Hall is a smooth athlete at the QB spot with natural arm talent and quality ball placement. ... His arm strength is good, not great, and he wasn't pressured often in college. He has some scrambling skill but (is) not a designed-run type at the next level. He has a smaller frame, but he will check most team's height boxes. His pocket presence and coverage reading need improvement.
While Hall "lacks a true standout trait as a passer" and "doesn't have loads of experience dealing with pressure," he's a "smooth athlete" with two years of "quality production as a starter." CBS Sports' pro comparison for Hall was Titans QB Ryan Tannehill.
I watched the Vikings first game in 1961 as a ten year old. George Shaw our first designated starting WB was hurt. Tarkenton came in and threw for four and ran another one in. The Vikings beat the Bears.
We don’t know what we have with Jaren Hall and two weeks ago fans were demanding we trade Kirk for picks. Here we are seeing fans say that we are doomed without him.
I take comfort knowing that I have made it through every Vikings bad season in their history and survived. For some reason Viking success and failure has never affected my quality of life. It’s going to be fine even if the season ends up falling short of expectations.
The thing about Hall that does make me nervous is how much a surprise Puka Nacua has been(to many, I felt he was better than his draft position, but not potential best WR in the draft. I live in Utah so had a lot more views of him). Feels like Hall could have done a lot more with that weapon than they did
Crax wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 11:33 am
The thing about Hall that does make me nervous is how much a surprise Puka Nacua has been(to many, I felt he was better than his draft position, but not potential best WR in the draft. I live in Utah so had a lot more views of him). Feels like Hall could have done a lot more with that weapon than they did
Didn't Puka deal with some injury issues there though? I don't watch too much CFB beyond the Big 12, so I would love to hear your take on Hall.
Edit to add: good thread, Cliff. I feel like this week's game against the Falcons is likely to be pretty ugly. I hope KOC can get Hall a good game plan and scheme things to make it easy on the youngster. Addison is so good at getting open--he had Jaire Alexander looking confused yesterday--so I hope they lean on him and Hock early to get Hall some confidence and rhythm.
Crax wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 11:33 am
The thing about Hall that does make me nervous is how much a surprise Puka Nacua has been(to many, I felt he was better than his draft position, but not potential best WR in the draft. I live in Utah so had a lot more views of him). Feels like Hall could have done a lot more with that weapon than they did
Didn't Puka deal with some injury issues there though? I don't watch too much CFB beyond the Big 12, so I would love to hear your take on Hall.
Yeah, Puka had some injuries, but when it was announced he was coming back from Washington to go to BYU as a local guy who also played at Orem High, people were pumped talking about huge numbers they were expecting. He had flashes, but nothing like he's doing now. I feel he's meeting the hype people had for him in college but never got there. Maybe it wasn't his fault and more on coaching/qb?
I think Hall is pretty good as far as college QB's go, but I don't think he was necessarily better than Zack Wilson and going back farther, was he a better QB than John Beck(Career NFL Backup) or Max Hall (No relation, short time starter at Arizona, later arrested shoplifting from best buy, kindof a crazy story), I don't think necessarily better than Beck or Wilson in college, but has some potential to be better, I would say better than Max as far as recent BYU nfl qb's go. I think Jaren is more athletic than those two guys, but lots of unknowns still. Covid of course kindof makes some guys careers pretty weird too.
Texas Vike wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 12:10 pm
I feel like this week's game against the Falcons is likely to be pretty ugly.
I will be there in person, good seats, so should be able to report back on the in-person take on things.
When we bought the tickets this was a COMPLETELY different game on paper. I hate to say "good thing", but good thing Falcons DE (and captain) Grady Jarrett tore his ACL this week, about the same time as Kirk's achilles. That should help our OL quite a bit, and maybe lessens our need to have TE's chip the DE, meaning getting into routes faster, meaning better for Hall at QB.
Not sure how many QB's I'll see play in this game, but right now I wouldn't be surprised to see four or five get snaps!
Texas Vike wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 12:10 pm
I feel like this week's game against the Falcons is likely to be pretty ugly.
I will be there in person, good seats, so should be able to report back on the in-person take on things.
When we bought the tickets this was a COMPLETELY different game on paper. I hate to say "good thing", but good thing Falcons DE (and captain) Grady Jarrett tore his ACL this week, about the same time as Kirk's achilles. That should help our OL quite a bit, and maybe lessens our need to have TE's chip the DE, meaning getting into routes faster, meaning better for Hall at QB.
Not sure how many QB's I'll see play in this game, but right now I wouldn't be surprised to see four or five get snaps!
Enjoy the game! You never know what can happen. It might turn into an unforgettable, legendary game.
Hall is 25 years old so he's been playing longer than your normal rookie. I'm sure that helped him in college. I don't follow college so I'm not sure how long these guys can play. Does Hall have an NFL arm? Is it strong enough to zip it into tight windows?
