Vikings rookie Jaren Hall set to start against Falcons

FLOWERY BRANCH — Quarterback Kirk Cousins, a four-time Pro Bowler, sustained an Achilles tendon tear in the Vikings’ 24-10 win over the Packers on Sunday and was placed on injured reserve Tuesday.

The Vikings (4-4) are set to start rookie quarterback Jaren Hall when they face the Falcons (4-4) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“We do plan to start Jaren Hall on Sunday,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said to the Minnesota media Tuesday. “I’m excited to see what Jaren can do.”

For their second game in a row, the Falcons will face a rookie quarterback making his first start in the NFL. Things didn’t go so well against Tennessee’s Will Levis, who torched the Falcons for four touchdown passes in a 28-23 loss.

Hall is not as highly touted as Levis, a second-round pick who was the 33rd player taken in the 2023 NFL draft. Hall, who played at BYU, was drafted 164th overall, in the fifth round. Also, the Vikings traded with the Cardinals for local product Joshua Dobbs, who played at Alpharetta High and Tennessee.

“I thought it was important in our process of evaluating our options at the position to make sure we solidified our quarterback (group) along with Jaren Hall and hopefully with Nick Mullens coming off short-term (injured reserve) at some point,” O’Connell said. “Josh gives us an experienced player who has started some games not only this year, but last (year). He’s played some good football against some of the best defenses in our league and found ways to move the ball.”

Hall played after Cousins was was injured against the Packers. He was 3-of-4 passing for 23 yards.

Hall, who’s listed at 6-foot and 207 pounds, was considered a developmental project going into the draft. He was projected as a sixth- or seventh-round pick by NFL Draft Scout.

“BYU quarterback Jaren Hall projects as a high-upside developmental NFL quarterback,” according to TheDraftNetwork.com. “Hall has some significant gifts as a passer and the athleticism to move the needle as an outside-of-structure player, but he will need additional refinement in order to become more consistent in the routine plays of NFL timing and accuracy.”

Dobbs, who has a degree in aerospace engineering, was a fourth-round pick by the Steelers in 2017. He made his first start in the NFL last season with Tennessee and started eight games with the Cardinals this year. He’s 1-9 as an NFL starter.

Minnesota is hoping to get Dobbs ready to play, if needed, against the Falcons.

After a 1-4 start, the Vikings were warming up under Cousins and have won three in a row. Cousins was spreading the ball around to wide receiver Justin Jefferson and tight end T.J. Hockenson until Jefferson went down with a hamstring injury Oct. 8 in the fourth quarter of a loss to the Chiefs.

With Jefferson out, wide receiver Jordan Addison became one of Cousin’s top options. Hockenson has 53 catches for 478 yards and three touchdowns. Addison has 36 catches for 482 yards and seven touchdowns. The Vikings also have wide receiver Brandon Powell, who played for the Falcons in 2020. Powell has 13 catches for 142 yards.

With Hall, the Vikings will have to lean on their rushing attack, which is led by running backs Alexander Mattison and Cam Akers after they traded Dalvin Cook over the offseason. Mattison has rushed 106 times for 390 yards (3.7 per carry) and Akers, who was acquired in a trade with the Rams on Sept. 20, has rushed 30 times for 113 yards (3.8 per carry) and a touchdown.

The Vikings averaged 73.3 yards rushing per game, which ranks 31st in the league.

“We’ll obviously have to be ready to stop the run,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “Don’t give up shot plays. Then, you look at everything. (The) quarterback’s strength when they play and what their history – they’re not going to reinvent some offense.”

The Falcons went for play-action fakes against Tennessee and were beaten for touchdown passes of 47, 16, 61 and 33 yards.

“You make a mistake in this league, somebody is going to try to expose you to see if you got it fixed,” Smith said.

The Vikings’ pass rush is led by outside linebackers/defensive ends Danielle Hunter and D.J. Wonnum, who played at Stephenson High and South Carolina. The Vikings had four sacks and seven quarterbacks hits against the Packers.

Wonnum had two sacks and three hits against the Packers. Hunter has 10 sacks.

Safety Camryn Bynum is the Vikings’ leading tackler with 74.

The Falcons will play without defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, who sustained a season-ending knee injury against the Titans. The Falcons will get ready for Hall, whose father, Kalen Hall, played running back at BYU in the 1990s.