The Minnesota Vikings saw some growth on the second team against the Tennessee Titans in their 24-16 loss on Saturday night.
The one player that everyone is singling out is quarterback Jaren Hall. Selected in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL draft, Hall could be the quarterback of the future. It’s a less likely outcome than someone taken in the first round, but it’s still plausible.
Just like I did last week, all 12 of Hall’s dropbacks with full breakdowns and the all-22 angle.
1st dropback
This is a levels concept with a bootleg off play-action. Hall plays it really smart and stays patient. He can hit the tight end in the flat right away, but his patience pays off as Blake Proehl comes open in the intermediate level. He doesn’t make the catch, but these reads are good to see from Hall.
The real frustrating thing wasn’t anything Hall did. You would like him to drive the ball more, but he couldn’t with the defender crashing in on him. The ball hits Proehl in the hands. You need to catch it.
Grade: B+
2nd dropback
This is a straight dropback without any play-action. Hall stays frontside with his read then shifts backside and makes a good read by throwing it to Proehl. The ball was slightly high, but an easily catchable ball. Overall, a nice play by Hall, but getting the ball in a slightly better spot would make this play work better.
Grade: B+
3rd dropback
This ended up being called back for a penalty, but it’s good to look at what happened. Hall is trying to hit the hitch route, as it’s going against off coverage. Hit the receiver and let them make a move in the open field. Hall unfortunately short hops the throw but it doesn’t matter due to the penalty. Good read, more quick game accuracy issues.
Grade: C+
4th dropback
This is a great setup for a screen. Hall sells the play-action fake well and stays calm and collected under pressure before he delivers a nice pass on the screen. This is executed perfectly by Hall.
Grade: A
5th dropback
This is the reason that I was so high on Hall coming out. Nobody drops the ball in a bucket as well as Hall does. He drops back and senses the pressure coming through the B gap. When he senses that, Hall shuffles his feet to his left and delivers a dime to Thayer Thomas on a sail route. The safety makes an excellent play and knocks the ball out of his hands. You can’t ask for a better play from Hall.
Grade: A
6th dropback
This is a learning experience for Hall. Up top there is a slot fade. He could throw a 50/50 ball on that slot fade, but he hesitates. On the near side, he could hit the backside crosser, but there is a narrow window to hit it. What is the most frustrating is Hall’s internal clock doesn’t tell him to get rid of the football. Once three seconds hits, you need to make a move. He stays stagnant and gets sacked. Great teaching moment and the worst rep of the night.
Grade: F
7th dropback
Another screen here from the Vikings. They run verticals throughout the concept to clear space underneath and Hall handles it well. The pressure gets in Hall’s face, but he doesn’t panic and makes the throw to Aaron Dykes for a solid gain.
Grade: A-
8th dropback
Another play-action bootleg from the Vikings, something that will be a constant with the shift to a more Shanahan-inspired offense. Hall is more decisive on this play compared to his other dropbacks and hits the tight end quickly, allowing him to drive upfield.
Grade: B+
9th dropback
Just like the above play, it’s another play-action bootleg. Hall sells the fake and throws a perfect ball to Colin Thompson. The nice part about this throw is that it flips Thompson’s hips to the inside and drove him upfield quickly. The little things matter and this is one of them.
Grade: A+
10th dropback
Play-action here for what feels like the 20th time in the game. Hall doesn’t see anything come open from the nearside dig or on the farside in the flat or on the curl. Hall recognized that and escapes the pocket for a solid gain running the ball. This isn’t something Hall likes to do often, but gladly will when the time is right.
Grade: B+
11th dropback
The Vikings ran a lot of in-breaking routes here, but none of them got open. The three-second clock went off in Hall’s head and he escaped the pocket for another quality gain. These types of plays are what you need from a modern-day quarterback.
Grade: B+
12th dropback
This is a spot concept. The slot receiver runs a hook route, the running back takes the flat and the tight end takes the corner. This throw could have been better as it should go to the pylon in the back corner of the endzone. However, it’s not a big deal that it goes short because it caused a pass interference penalty and DeWayne McBride scored on the next play.
Grade: B
Overall synopsis
Hall showed some growth from game to game. That’s a positive sign for both him and the Vikings. While he is still far from a finished product, showing growth in his skillset is a huge win for everyone involved. Hall shouldn’t see the field at all this season and that’s okay. Let him sit behind Kirk Cousins for a year and see where you are at next off-season.
When you look at Hall’s performance, you need to consider the context. Vanilla playbook and playing with mostly third-teamers bring a lot of context to the situation and things gain a lot of perspective because of it.
Grade: B
