With rookie minicamp in the rearview and NFL schedules dropping Thursday, let the forecasting begin.

Field Yates of ESPN kicked off this week with a glance at 10 first-year players on both sides of the football (20 total) who are primed to make major impacts. There's one caveat, though: no first-rounders allowed.

That leaves 225 drafted players up for discussion.

Before running down his list, Yates noted that last season's Defensive Rookie of the Year — Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger — was a Day 2 selection, and so was the NFL leader in all-purpose yards, Titans wide receiver/returner Chimere Dike. Point being, tremendous players can come from Rounds 2-7.

So without further ado, let's highlight the new Viking capturing Yates' attention: safety Jakobe Thomas.

Yates explained that the "exact impact" Thomas makes on Minnesota's defense in 2026 is a challenge to predict due to the creativeness of Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores. However, Yates likes Thomas' size, ultra-physical mentality and on-ball production last year; he sees Thomas helping reshape the secondary.

The 98^th overall pick out of Miami (after playing at Middle Tennessee State and Tennessee), Thomas boosts the depth at the position for Minnesota as icon Harrison Smith contemplates coming back for a 15^th season or walking off into the sunset of retirement with a strong Pro Football Hall of Fame résumé.

Thomas played at the prep level about two hours away from the grounds Smith used to stomp, so he is well-versed in "The Hitman's" game. Thomas also is attuned to the system he's entering because the 'Canes "stole some stuff" from Flores on their nearly successful title quest under Defensive Coordinator Corey Hetherman.

"We ran a lot of [the same concepts] at Miami," Thomas relayed to Twin Cities reporters on Friday following Vikings rookie minicamp. "We watched it on tape and tried to emulate it into our game."

"I just know Coach B-Flo is going to put me in positions I need to [be in] to help this team win," Thomas added about his role. "I know the long history of him and Harry together, and I know the effect that they have with this defense, so I'm hoping I can step in and make an impact in the way that they need me to."

Thomas was asked what he's observed from Smith over the years, prompting a prudent perspective.

"We didn't have a lot of guys that came up in the area that I lived in, so to have a beacon of light — somebody that we could look to, and be like, 'Hey, if this guy's doing it, why can't I?'" Thomas replied. "Watching his career unfold as I've grown up … now that I'm in the position he was in, I just want to take maximum advantage of the situation I'm in and hopefully be a beacon of light for the kids back home."

Other rookies on Yates' list that the Vikings are scheduled to play against this year are Bears TE Sam Roush (69^th overall pick out of Stanford), Bills LB Kaleb Elarms-Orr (126^th out of TCU), Buccaneers CB Keionte Scott (116^th out of Miami), Colts LB CJ Allen (53^rd out of Georgia), Commanders WR Antonio Williams (71^st out of Clemson), Dolphins LB Jacob Rodriguez (43^rd out of Texas Tech), LB Kyle Louis (138^th out of Pittsburgh) and WR Caleb Douglas (75^th out of Texas Tech), and Saints OL Jeremiah Wright (132^nd out of Auburn).

Check out the entire catalog of Day 2-3 picks who Yates envisions making the greatest impacts, here.

Vikings Coordinate 6^th D.C. Trip for Project Success Students

Vikings Owner/President Mark Wilf met Minnesota students this past weekend in Washington, D.C., for the sixth trip by Project Success that has been coordinated with the team.

The son of Holocaust survivors, Wilf has made efforts to educate younger generations about the pitfalls of antisemitism and bigotry. That objective was clear Saturday when Wilf led a tour of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum alongside Vikings Legend Visanthe Shiancoe and current players Levi Drake Rodriguez, Walter Rouse and Elijah Williams, as well as a group of Black and Indigenous high school students from the Minneapolis area.

The goal of the trip is straightforward: introduce students to world history through tours of both the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Matthew Shea of Jewish Insider spoke with Wilf during the group's guided tour to learn how the initiative supports the Wilf family's legacy. Here's an excerpt from Shea:

Wilf and his brother, Zygi Wilf, have owned the Minnesota Vikings since 2005. Wilf's family has long supported Holocaust education and survivor organizations, including Yad Vashem, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York. He is the current chair of the Jewish Agency for Israel, after recently serving as chair of the Jewish Federations of North America.

During World War II, Wilf's father, Joseph, was deported with his family to a Siberian labor camp. His mother, Elizabeth, survived by escaping the Lvov ghetto and hiding in a barn with her family until liberation. Joseph and Elizabeth met at a displaced persons camp in Germany after the war, married and came to America.

Wilf told Jewish Insider, "It's very important for young people to learn about history and how they can make an impact on the world and society."

He added, "To learn the history of the world — where sometimes there's hatred and bigotry and see what it can lead to — and also learn the impact of an individual: how an individual can change things, can fight back and how we can set an example by being tolerant and learning from each other."

Rodriguez, Rouse and Williams each gleaned powerful takeaways from the trip and emphasized the importance of the students being present so the younger generation is informed on "all the atrocities."

"When you get into these museums, you really get the unfiltered truth. That's what we need in society — unfiltered truth so we don't sugarcoat the atrocities of the past," Williams said. "We tend to repeat it [history], and this is just another example of the hatred in the world and how we need to avoid it."

Click here to read the feature on Wilf's aim to inform, and Vikings players being ambassadors for good.

Also, keep an eye out for future additional content from the Washington, D.C., venture, on Vikings.com.