Vikings rookie Jakobe Thomas has yet to play. Not just on defense, but overall. Worse yet, he hasn’t even been dressing. Minnesota’s five games have involved keeping him sidelined.
Does there come a point in the not-too-distant future when it becomes time to worry about his development? No doubt, things are still very early, but the drafting in the Twin Cities has been very poor in recent seasons. As a result, some are scared and scarred about the process, creating concern about young lads who don’t take off quickly.
Vikings Rookie Jakobe Thomas Yet to Dress
To be sure, there are others who feel that Thomas can become a productive NFL player.
On the NFL website, Lance Zierlein offered this scouting report on the former Miami safety: “A productive, fifth-year safety prospect, Thomas is wired to play forward and race into the action wherever it is present. He overflows pursuit and has too many missed or broken tackles on his stat sheet, but his impact against the run is a net positive. He has good ball production but is fairly average in coverage. He can be way too quick to overlap or bite on bait, which allows receivers to get behind him from single-high and split-safety alignments. Thomas has the potential to develop into a starter as a likely middle-round pick.”
Part of what makes the Zierlein assessment notable is the draft grade that puts Thomas in the 4th or 5th. Minnesota evidently felt better about his potential, scooping him up at the end of the 3rd with the No. 98 selection.
Keep in mind, as well, that the rookie safety missed a decent portion of the team’s offseason due to nursing a back injury. Failing to get these reps put him behind the sticks, so to speak. Meanwhile, UDFA safety Jacob Thomas was shining, quickly proving capable of corralling what Brian Flores was tossing at the safety talent.
And then Harrison Smith came back, further enhancing the logjam at the position.
But then there’s been another reality at work: the safety play hasn’t exactly been lights out. Coach Flores has mainly leaned on a rotation of Josh Metellus, Theo Jackson, and Harrison Smith. Per PFF, that’s the 85th, 39th, and 90th ranked safeties in the league. Note that only 90 qualify for the rankings, so we’re talking about bottom-level play, at least in the assessment of the analytics website.
It’s from within that context that Jakobe Thomas hasn’t been able to dress for a game.
At this point, the Vikings’ best move prior to the trade deadline would be to add a running back. There are then arguments for adding a tight end and/or offensive lineman. But what about safety?
So far, the in-house safety options have proved uninspiring. Minnesota’s defense has been ferocious, mostly due to the front seven, the corners, and The Mad Scientist. What could a dominant center fielder do in this defense? Lots of damage, presumably.
Jakobe Thomas, 23, is listed at 6’1″ and 211 pounds. His best bet is to begin by proving important for specials while chipping away at securing a depth job on defense. At some point, the 3rd-Round selection will need to dress to chase down those goals.