The Forgotten Rook...
Vikings rookie safety Jakobe Thomas enters Week 7 with an unwanted distinction, one he intends to render irrelevant as soon as coaches let him.
Thomas, picked No. 98 overall, is one of just two top 100 picks in this year’s NFL draft who have been healthy but inactive for every game so far. The only other healthy top 100 pick who has watched every game in sweatpants has been Broncos defensive tackle Tyler Onyedim, who was taken No. 66 overall.
“I’ve been talking with this player week in and week out,” special teams coordinator Matt Daniels said. “He’s asking and wondering when is his time going to come to be able to be activated on game day? I just tell him, ‘You just got to keep playing more football.’”
Thomas, a hard-hitting college safety for Miami and Tennessee, was handpicked in late April by a Vikings front office that did not yet know whether safety Harrison Smith would come back for a 15th season.
Then Thomas suffered a back injury early in training camp that sidelined him for multiple weeks and two preseason games. Smith, 37, returned days before the season opener. Undrafted rookie safety Jacob Thomas earned a role while Jakobe Thomas recovered from his back injury.
That left Thomas, the third-round pick, as the No. 6 safety behind Smith, Joshua Metellus, Theo Jackson, Jay Ward and Jacob Thomas.
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores doesn’t need six safeties on game day when his No. 1-ranked defense uses only four defensive backs on 33 snaps per game, the second-most in the NFL, according to TruMedia.
Ward, the 2023 fourth-round safety, has played just two defensive snaps despite taking many first-team reps as a slot defender in camp. Smith’s return essentially allowed coaches to move Metellus back into that role.
“Just the nature of the game,” Metellus told the Minnesota Star Tribune. “We got one of the best defensive front sevens in the National Football League. It’s hard to take those guys off the field when they’re causing havoc.”
Jakobe Thomas working to earn a spot in Vikings’ defense
How the 48-player game day roster is decided begins with coach Kevin O’Connell discussing the offensive and defensive game plans with Flores and offensive coordinator Wes Phillips. O’Connell and Daniels, the special teams coach, then talk through any special teams roster changes dictated by game plan or performance.
Thomas’ performance in practice has not been an issue, according to coaches. Coaches honor multiple scout team players each week, and Thomas has been among the recognized scout team members in three of five weeks this season, Daniels said.
“He’s probably one of our best practice players that we have,” Daniels said. “And a lot of the success we’ve had thus far this year is a huge credit to the guys we’re going against [in practice].”
So how does Thomas, 23, feel about waiting?
“I know how to play my role and maintain it,” Thomas told the Minnesota Star Tribune. “Everything’s not always going to go your way. Sometimes you’ve got to pay your fee and pay your dues, and I got great guys in front of me to learn from.”
Strib
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
Flores is overseeing a productive and healthy defense powered by veterans. He’s given only minor roles to other prominent rookies like first-round defensive tackle Caleb Banks (82 snaps), second-round linebacker Jake Golday (7) and third-round defensive tackle Domonique Orange (78).
Asked about Thomas, Flores said he is “doing well” and has participated in the extra meeting and walkthrough time allotted for the team’s many rookies.
“He’s asking the right questions in meetings,” Flores said, “doing a good job in walkthroughs.”
“When your opportunity presents itself, you have to be ready to go,” Flores added, “and not fall into the trap of, ‘Hey, this is my situation: I’m never going to play. It’s always going to be like this.’ That’s just not the National Football League. … It’ll happen defensively where we’ll have to have some of these younger guys step in.”
Jakobe Thomas has impressed Vikings vets like Harrison Smith
Two team captains, Smith and Metellus, took a liking to Thomas this spring.
Before Smith re-signed for Year 15, he joined Vikings defenders for a get-together at Flores’ house, according to Metellus. Afterward, Metellus and Smith asked Thomas to join them for a night out. Metellus found a kindred spirit in Thomas.
“We’re similar in a lot of ways,” Metellus said. “We play alike, same love for the game.”
Metellus said he’s seen Thomas start to settle into a weekly routine while embracing his scout-team role in practices.
“These last couple weeks have been big for him,” Metellus said. “In the building, the energy, the mindset, we’re starting to see the shift. I think it’s been really great. That’s all you want is the upward trajectory.”
How will Thomas respond when he’s finally active for a Vikings game day?
“Show everybody why I’m here and why I was picked where I was picked,” Thomas said. “That’s the biggest thing: showing people who I really am and not letting them forget.”
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
Getting playing time as a rook on this D? GL to yah.
It's about as difficult to crack this line-up as you'll face anywhere in the league.
They are clearly spoon-feeding these guys and I'm cool with that. Its a nice luxury to have.
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
purplefaithful wrote:
Getting playing time as a rook on this D? GL to yah.
It's about as difficult to crack this line-up as you'll face anywhere in the league.
They are clearly spoon-feeding these guys and I'm cool with that. Its a nice luxury to have.
Ward can’t get snaps. A rookie who missed significant time isn’t seeing the field anytime soon.
And that’s awesome
“Hell is empty and all the devils are here”
Shakespeare
More often then not it seems to be Flores style. Case in point. Turner had like 300 defensive snaps as a rookie and more then double that in his second season. Flo takes it slow
He's a hard charger, so I'm sure this is tough on Jakobe. He'll be better for it next year hopefully.
Still Hurtn wrote:
More often then not it seems to be Flores style. Case in point. Turner had like 300 defensive snaps as a rookie and more then double that in his second season. Flo takes it slow
BFlo is old school...
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
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