Scouting report notes on Vikings draft pick Jakobe Thomas

The Minnesota Vikings ' defense needed to step up in critical moments in 2025. They started fixing it when they drafted Caleb Banks in Round 1, and they added a linebacker in Jake Golday. But it turned out they weren't done there as they selected the star defender of the Iowa State Cyclones, Domonique Orange.

The question remained, though, as to which safety would end up with the team and we got that answer when they drafted Jakobe Thomas. For more specifics on Thomas, all we have to go on is what the film has shown us, and we have some notes from Lance Zierlein's scouting report to share. Zierlein writes, "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. " He also wrote that he projected as a fourth- to fifth-round pick, so it was a reach. But the Vikings are likely to hold onto that last part of the report when he discusses his potential to become a starter.