Questions Answered: Vikings Award Winner, Thayer Thomas, Andrew Booth Odds
The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by VikingsTerritory. Today is the July 12th edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected].
Questions Answered: Vikings Award Winner, Thayer Thomas, Andrew Booth Odds
Also, please note: These are opinion-based responses. Some answers will be incorrect from time to time. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum.
Q: Can Thayer Thomas make the roster and perhaps win WR3?
Answer: Yes, on the roster. Maybe on WR3. The latter is a longshot.
For context, these are Minnesota’s wide receivers at the moment:
- Justin Jefferson
- Jordan Addison
- Brandon Powell
- Trent Sherfield
- Jalen Nailor
- Trishton Jackson
- Lucky Jackson
- Thayer Thomas
- Malik Knowles
- Ty James
- Jeshaun Jones
Powell is the odds-on favorite to win the WR3 gig, but the team is silently begging for someone to step up and seize the day. Meanwhile, head coach Kevin O’Connell spoke highly of Thomas earlier in the offseason.
“Looking at Thayer. I was joking with him out there, cause really one year to the day of the first time we got on the grass with him,” he said in May. “Just the growth, and the development, and the mindset that he has now. And really being a calming presence out there.”
Thayer or any unsung UDFA springing up to make the 53-man roster would be pretty sweet. It would also make the Vikings’ lack of WR3 signings and draftees make more sense.
Q: If an individual Vikings player wins an award this season, who will it be?
Answer: Dallas Turner + Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Turner will receive ample playing time — probably start — and has the clearest path of any Viking to an award in 2024. Some might say Sam Darnold for Comeback Player of the Year, but the criteria for that honor has changed recently. Feel-good comeback stories from the bench no longer qualify.
J.J. McCarthy could nibble at Offensive Rookie of the Year, though he might not get enough starts with Sam Darnold on deck to start.
Let’s go with Turner for DROY if any Viking brings home hardware.
Q: What would you say are Andrew Booth’s odds of making the team?
A: 75%
This will sound morbid, but his odds of making the 53-man roster increased when Khyree Jackson passed away last weekend. There’s just no other way to say it.
The Vikings need a youth option at cornerback, and Booth is one of the few after Akayleb Evans and undrafted free agent Dwight McGlothern. Otherwise, Minnesota will likely draft another cornerback next April.
Remember, too, that Booth performed well on the field last year. He produced a 68.6 Pro Football Focus Grade in 2023, playing 100 defensive snaps. Perhaps the man just needs playing time.
Vikings Have a “Distressed Asset”
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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