After leaving the door open for speculation heading into the Vikings’ bye week, head coach Kevin O’Connell has yet to announce who he plans to start at quarterback when the Vikings travel to play the Raiders on Sunday afternoon at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

On that note, it’s worth analyzing the options the Vikings have at their disposal, with journeyman Josh Dobbs, veteran Nick Mullens and rookie Jaren Hall all in the quarterback conversation.

There are pros and cons to each player as the Vikings try to hold on to a playoff spot. Let’s make a case for Dobbs, Mullens and Hall before an official announcement is made in the coming days.

Case for Josh Dobbs

There is undoubtedly the highest ceiling with Dobbs at the helm. There also might be the lowest floor.

The past month has been variance personified as Dobbs quickly became a leaguewide sensation, then regressed to the mean something nasty while turning the ball over at an alarming rate. He has eight turnovers in four games since being acquired at the trade deadline, which, most notably, includes four interceptions in a primetime game the Vikings couldn’t afford to lose but somehow did.

The decision to move forward with Dobbs would likely coincide with the the Vikings reconfiguring parts of the offense so it is best suited for his skill set. He’s not a pure pocket passer like injured franchise quarterback Kirk Cousins. There’s no reason for the Vikings to pretend he is.

Now, if the Vikings could somehow bottle up the way Dobbs played in wins over the Falcons and Saints, they could be a scary team that the top contenders wouldn’t want to see in the playoffs. He was that good at the peak of his powers. The only issue is the fact that Dobbs might have been figured out in losses to the Broncos and Bears.

Will the real Josh Dobbs please stand up?

Case for Nick Mullens

The definition of playing it safe would be going with Mullens for the foreseeable future. He knows the system better than anybody on the current roster, and thus, should be able to run it without too many hiccups here and there.

Think of it as Mullens being the ultimate game manager.

Theoretically, he has enough knowledge of what the Vikings want to do, so he would be able to effectively distribute the ball to a talented playmakers like star receiver Justin Jefferson, rookie receiver Jordan Addison and standout tight end T.J. Hockenson, among a handful of others. It’s also a pretty good bet that Mullens would do the best job taking care of the ball based on his experience in the offense.

This feels like trying to slap a single to the outfield rather than swing for the fences. That might be enough for the Vikings in the second half of the season.

Case for Jaren Hall

The only reason to chose Hall would be to leave no stone unturned.

He’s an unknown commodity. Maybe the Vikings want to see what they have in him before they potentially select a quarterback in the next draft.

There isn’t much tape on Hall outside of the brief appearance he made about a month ago. He started for the Vikings against the Falcons, and while he looked to be finding a rhythm early on, he left the game with a concussion after being hit hard near the goal line.

Do the Vikings want to get an extended look at Hall now that he’s full healthy? That remains to be seen.

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