Good morning,

I’ll be watching these things when the Vikings take on the Broncos Friday night @AtoZSportsNFL https://t.co/JGDi95ou14

— Tyler Forness (@TheRealForno) August 27, 2026

Vikings vs. Broncos Preview: 5 key elements to watch that will impact the 53-man roster

The Minnesota Vikings are set to have their final preseason game, and it will answer a lot of roster math questions.

The Minnesota Vikings are set to take on the Denver Broncos in their preseason finale on Friday night. While you won’t see the likes of Justin Jefferson, Dallas Turner, Kyler Murray, or any of the top-line starters, Friday’s game matters for a different reason. This is a roster bubble game, with players fighting for the final 53-man roster spots, practice squad positioning, and a chance to put enough on tape to catch the eye of other organizations will take center stage against Denver.

The stakes aren’t the highest in the traditional sense, but for players chasing a practice squad spot worth almost $250,000 a year and a potential path to an active roster, this game means everything. There’s going to be a lot of football worth watching. Here are five things to keep an eye on.

Max Brosmer needs to showcase development at quarterback

The undrafted free agent out of the University of Minnesota by way of the University of New Hampshire thrived during training camp last year and became one of the better stories on the Vikings. Unfortunately, his two starts last season were a disaster, though it’s worth noting he arguably shouldn’t have been put in that position in the first place. Injuries forced him into action before he was ready.

Brosmer enters this year as the fourth quarterback on the roster. He needs to showcase quite a bit to maintain that spot, especially with the uncertain future of J.J. McCarthy. If McCarthy ends up staying on the roster, Brosmer becomes a practice squad candidate and a solid one at that. If the Vikings choose to move on, he’s the top candidate for QB3. 

This is year two in the offense for Brosmer, and he does have ability. While he may not have starting-caliber potential, a cost-controlled backup who can keep you stabilized when your starting quarterback gets hurt is an invaluable proposition. He has the requisite arm talent to develop into that, and now he has to catch up to the speed of the game and make quick decisions, something that McCarthy has struggled with. Playing quarterback in the NFL isn’t easy, but Brosmer can continue to earn his spot.

Zavier Scott’s roster spot is in jeopardy at running back

Zavier Scott is in a battle with Demond Claiborne for the running back 3 spot in what could be a four running back room plus a fullback. The problem for Scott is that Claiborne has two things working in his favor: the Vikings traded a sixth-round pick to move up and select him, and he runs in the 4.3s. Scott doesn’t have either of those advantages. Minnesota signed him as a UDFA to the practice squad out of Maine in Nov. 2024, and he stuck around, earning a roster spot last year. He was productive when given opportunities, including a wheel route touchdown catch against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Dublin in Week 4.

However, Scott needs to do the little things well. He’s got to be a great pass protector and excellent on special teams, whether that’s serving as the personal protector or contributing on coverage units. He hasn’t done that nearly well enough, and that’s a problem. If he wants to be on the roster, he’s got to showcase those skills in this game. If he doesn’t, it could be the end for him.

The wide receiver battle between Dillon Bell and Dontae Fleming heats up

With Jeshaun Jones receiving a three-game suspension, the Vikings don’t have to cut him because they can place him on the reserve suspended list. That means if they’re keeping six wide receivers, a spot has opened up between Bell and Fleming.

Bell, coming out of the University of Georgia, never had fewer than 20 catches in his four-year career with the Bulldogs in an offense that wasn’t very pass-heavy. He came into training camp with a lot of hype stemming from rookie minicamp, mandatory minicamp, and OTAs, but he’s leveled off. He hasn’t been bad, but he hasn’t stood out. The coaching staff has tried to get him involved with jet sweeps and quick screens, and that’s paid dividends. He’s going to need more of that production in this game.

Fleming, meanwhile, has been a great route runner who has made some really impressive catches in space and in coverage. He also has punt return capabilities. With Myles Price balling out and likely locking down the wide receiver 4 spot, there’s a non-zero chance someone could take the punt return job from him. Fleming has a really interesting burst and vision as a returner, and that could pay dividends in the roster battle.

The linebacker room could force a difficult financial decision

The top three are set: Blake Cashman, Eric Wilson, and Jake Golday. Behind them, Jacob Roberts has thrived across the board and been a good player. Bengally Kamara has also proven himself, though he’s played almost exclusively against third-stringers. He’s reading things properly, making the right calls, filling gaps well, and making great tackles.

The question becomes whether the performances of Roberts and Kamara are enough for the Vikings to move on from Ivan Pace Jr., who is making $3.52 million unguaranteed. It’s a non-zero proposition. If that ends up happening, it could be huge for roster math and building out the rest of the 53. This linebacker group is one of the better ones on the team, and the depth could force Minnesota’s hand.

Jakobe Thomas could finally make his preseason debut at safety

Jacob Thomas has been the star of the safety room and is probably going to make the team at this point. He got more opportunities due to the injury of third-round pick Jakobe Thomas, who we still haven’t seen hit the field because he suffered a back injury during training camp, causing him to miss both the Giants and Ravens preseason games. There’s a good chance he plays against Denver, and if that’s the case, there’s a lot to break down.

Thomas is an aggressive player who is willing to hit and has good ball skills, particularly coming from the roof. This is the kind of role the Vikings drafted Lewis Cine to fill, but Cine’s processing, which was a strength at Georgia, didn’t translate to the NFL. Thomas can fill that role. With how the Vikings like to use their safeties, there’s a way to rotate him in. As the 98th overall pick, he’ll likely play at least a quarter, maybe a little longer given that he missed the first two games. This could be the first real exposure to what Thomas can be, and that’s exciting.

Beyond these five storylines, the punter battle between Johnny Hekker and Brett Thorson gets settled. Tight end 3 comes down to Ben Yurosek and Gavin Bartholomew. Edge 3 and 4 will feature Tyler Batty, Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, Chaz Chambliss (now wearing No. 40 and possibly playing some fullback), and Bo Richter. There’s a lot to take in against the Broncos. It’s going to be a late night, but it’s one worth staying up for.

There's a lot more uncertainty about the Vikings QB depth than we thought there would be at this point in the summer. VIDEO:https://t.co/EEnqcZoYRn

— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) August 27, 2026

#Vikimgs S Jakobe Thomas, who has been dealing with back issues the last few weeks, is expected to play in Fridays season finale against the #Broncos, Josh Metellus told the media today.

Thomas didn’t play in the first 2 games, and hasn’t practiced much in training camp, but he… pic.twitter.com/QKX9sBcdTB

— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) August 27, 2026

Few NFL training camp stories are as special as this one.

SportsCenter in HS. Walk on for Curt Cignetti. James Madison legend.

Somehow, absurdly, Vikings UDFA safety Jacob Thomas stayed overlooked through it all. Not anymore:https://t.co/RYAMLio5sW

— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) August 27, 2026

EAGAN, Minn. — Tai Felton demanded I go find this play. Scour the internet, he said. The highlight is there somewhere.

And if it doesn’t come up via search? If it’s not easily accessible?

“I will text it to you,” the Minnesota Vikings’ second-year receiver said after one recent practice. “You have to see it.”

As it turns out, the play not only exists, but it’s everywhere. Social media feeds offer all different angles. A “SportsCenter” link still lives online with the following headline: This is the one-handed, state-title-winning TD grab you have to see.

When you press play on the clip, the commentator provides some background. It’s overtime. Stone Bridge High School, a powerhouse program in Ashburn, Va., is facing third-and-16 near the red zone with the Class 5 state championship on the line. The quarterback, Billy Wiles, catches the shotgun snap and looks as if he’s running a sweep to the right. He’s not. Instead, Wiles stops and does what most coaches tell young quarterbacks never to do. He launches a pass across his body.

The football leaves the frame, and then, at the last second, drops from the sky. The receiver underneath the ball, identified as Jacob Thomas, leaps backward, extends his right arm and palms the pigskin with a striking smoothness. The reception sends the sideline into a tizzy. Teammates and coaches are running, jumping, screaming and celebrating. That includes Felton, Thomas’ high school teammate, whose torn ACL paved the way for Thomas to play receiver.

“He was such a baller even back then,” Felton said. “So, yeah, I definitely knew what (the Vikings) were getting.”

Felton believed what almost anyone who has spent meaningful time around Thomas believed: that he would make the Vikings look smart when they signed him as an undrafted free agent this spring.

In fact, many of Thomas’ former coaches begged their scouting friends to take the converted safety late in the NFL Draft. Ironically, according to several of these former coaches, the Green Bay Packers were one of the teams closest to pulling the trigger.

“To be honest,” former James Madison coach Bob Chesney said, “I was a little bit shocked to see some of the guys who went above him.”

“I think it’s silly,” Colin Hitschler, Thomas’ defensive coordinator at James Madison, added. “NFL teams sometimes waste their picks on these elite testers, and here are these elite football players who end up making the team.”

Thomas’ signing as an undrafted free agent came with little fanfare. But even at the time, one NFC executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak openly about another team’s roster, pinpointed Thomas as a hidden gem.

Months later, Thomas’ training camp performance is more than just a fun story. It’s an essential development for a Vikings roster lacking rangy safety options with the aptitude to operate the controls of defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ scheme.

After Saturday’s preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens, head coach Kevin O’Connell highlighted Thomas’ intelligence. Flores continued with the compliments Tuesday. The lofty recognition, paired with Thomas’ on-field consistency, brings the details of a revealing journey to the forefront.

For multiple reasons, perplexing as they are, doubt surrounded Thomas at almost every turn.

“It’s the one constant for him,” Hitschler said. “All he does is prove people wrong with a zen and peaceful mentality. He doesn’t wear the chip on his shoulder. He’s not grumpy. It’s just this quiet, internal thing.”

Not even his eye-popping catch earned him a scholarship offer from an FBS school. He attended camps. He contacted coaches. Nothing worked.

Originally, Thomas agreed to play quarterback at the University of Richmond. Miscommunications with the coaching staff gave him second thoughts. Within minutes of publicly announcing his decommitment, then-unheralded James Madison coach Curt Cignetti sent Thomas a direct message.

“Cignetti tells Jacob, ‘I don’t have any scholarships, but I’d love to have you as a walk-on here,’” Thomas’ father, Richard, said. “He came back and told me (and his mother, Geraldine), and we said, ‘Look, if you want to do this, follow your dream.’”

To support Thomas’ decision, Richard, a special agent at the Pentagon, worked an extra 16 hours on Saturdays.

“We just wanted him to accomplish all of the things he wanted in life,” Geraldine added. “Our whole thought has been: How can we do what we have to do to make sure he has a better life than we have?”

Once Thomas arrived on campus, James Madison coaches realized that he was quicker on the field than any stopwatch suggested. He identified formations and deciphered passing concepts. He understood space and angles, almost as if his brain was calculating the picture in front of him with a new-generation operating system.

Perhaps Thomas’ experience as a basketball point guard developed a mechanism for faster reactions. Richard wondered if his years of playing soccer helped, too. Whatever the influence, this skill created opportunity. In 2022, Thomas contributed on special teams. In 2023, he got defensive snaps as a boundary safety. Neither compelled Cignetti to put Thomas on scholarship, a factor in Thomas’ eventual choice to stay at JMU to play for the newly hired Chesney.

The new staff marveled at Thomas’ acumen. Frequently, when he returned to the sideline, safeties coach Anthony DiMichele would ask him about the previous play. Thomas described player positioning in a way that made the coach wonder if Thomas had a photographic memory.

Power 5 programs, including Indiana, attempted to pluck Thomas for massive dollar amounts after his productive 2024 season, but he declined. Loyalty to Chesney and proximity to his family kept him in purple.

Somehow, Thomas’ major role in James Madison’s path to the College Football Playoff still didn’t earn him an invite to the NFL Scouting Combine. Overlooking him — again — would make more sense if he didn’t run a 4.44 40-yard dash at his pro day.

“I think some teams think, ‘If the players at that level are actually good, they’ll portal up,’” Nathan Applebaum, James Madison’s former director of player personnel, said. “But there are exceptions. I told every scout who came into our building that they wouldn’t regret drafting this kid. He’s just so instinctive.”

Vikings scout Michelle Mankoff listened. Her persistence, combined with discussions Vikings staffers had with Thomas to outline how they envisioned him in this defense, piqued his interest. Flores’ philosophy of playing the best players, regardless of draft position or hype, made Thomas’ selection easier.

Quietly this spring, coaches mixed him in with the backups. His ability to handle the communicative aspects of Flores’ scheme — coupled with the hazy status of Harrison Smith and the Vikings safety position — put him even more on the staff’s radar. As is his custom, Thomas succeeded early in training camp and established enough trust to be in line to make the 53-man roster.

He effectively fills gaps against the run. He tracks passes in the deep parts of the field. He does so many of the things he has always done.

This is not revisionist history, either. The proof and the talent, Felton reiterates, is still evident for anyone curious enough to look.

"I think you're gonna see Jakobe Thomas play a heck of a lot of snaps here on Friday" 👀

- @thorku on #Vikings rookie Jakobe Thomas pic.twitter.com/Pfna77lIkC

— SKOR North - Minnesota Sports (@SKORNorth) August 26, 2026

#Vikings players I will have my eye on in tomorrows preseason finale:

• Jakobe Thomas
• Jacob Thomas
• Demond Claiborne
• JJ McCarthy
• Dillon Bell
• Dontae Fleming
• Cam’Ron Stewart
• Jacob Roberts
• Gavin Gerhardt
• Kahlef Hailassie pic.twitter.com/TARwHtriQK

— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) August 27, 2026